By Benjamin Pulta | Philippine News Agency
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday filed criminal charges against four individuals for allegedly spreading incendiary fake news on social media against the Philippine government from abroad.
The NBI identified the four as Maricel Tondi whose social media handle is “wild.flower269,” “Olarte Bingkai” and “Bae Lebon Blaan” and whose last known address is in Davao Occidental but is currently in Saudi Arabia; Jennifer dela Cruz aka “Jose Fernandez Cruz” whose last known address is in Tarlac but who is currently in New Zealand; Jacinta Antasuda with last known address at Catigbian, Bohol and currently in the United Kingdom; and Cherry Lyn Capanas, whose last known address is in Pampanga but is apparently in Canada.
In a letter to Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon, the NBI Intelligence Service, through Assistant Director Noel Bocaling, recommended charges against the four for violation of the Anti-Alias Law, inciting to sedition, intriguing against honor and unlawful utterances, and violation of the Cyber Crime Prevention Act of 2012.
They are charged for spreading fake news on NBI Director Jaime Santiago over TikTok and Meta/Facebook last April 7 and 8 using spliced video and out-of-context commentaries.
“The respondents deliberately disseminated false information to which they made it appear that the NBI Director threatened to arrest all OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) when in fact the statement of the NBI Director was only pertaining to arrest criminals, upon filing of cases, who may be based overseas and not to the entire OFW community,” the NBI said.
“Clearly the intention of herein respondents to splice and edit the video statement of NBI Director Jaime Santiago is purely an attack to him. The content was not even supported by any proof. Instead, they omitted important content in the statement deliberately and ill-motivated alteration of the video to the discredit of the NBI Director in order to mislead the public.”
