Cops sue blogger Drew Olivar over bomb scare joke
MANILA, Philippines — Police on Thursday have officially filed a complaint against controversial blogger Drew Olivar over a bomb scare post on Martial Law commemoration day.
News5 reported that members of the Philippine National Police have arrived at the Department of Justice to officially file raps against Olivar, as their complaint was rejected by the department on Tuesday due to insufficient documents.
JUST IN | Nagsampa na ng kaso ang mga pulis laban sa blogger na si Drew Olivar. Naudlot ang pagsasampa noong nakaraang linggo dahil sa kakulangan sa dokumento. | via @dqdevera pic.twitter.com/Fjh0GtRlLb
— News5 AKSYON (@News5AKSYON) September 27, 2018
Olivar drew flak for his Facebook post that allude to a bombing similar to Plaza Miranda in 1971 which might happen on September 21, when mass demonstrations were set to commemorate Martial Law.
“Ay nakakatakot naman mag-rally sa EDSA, kasi may kumakalat na baka maulit daw yung pagbomba kagaya ng Plaza Miranda! Kung ako sa inyo, hindi na ako pupunta (Joining a rally on EDSA is scary because reports are spreading that the bombing of Plaza Miranda might happen again. If I were you, I would not go),” Olivar said in a Facebook post, which has now been taken down.
The police said their investigation disclosed that Olivar "knew that the information he disseminated to be false as he publicly admitted the posting of the same during a press conference at the Headquarters of the NCRPO."
They also noted that the post was shared for 108 times "that circulated in the world wide web maliciously disseminates false information fear and panic to the public."
READ: ‘Pepe-dede’ blogger Drew Olivar under probe for EDSA ‘bomb scare’
Olivar is known as Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson’s co-host in an online show. He has courted controversy with his videos on “I-pepe, I-dede” for federalism, sign language and making sounds in an apparent imitation of hearing- and speech-impaired people and taunting University of the Philippines students to just hang themselves.
Police earlier went to the DOJ to file the complaint for violating Presidential Decree 1727, which is informally called the “Anti-Bomb Joke Law.”
But they failed to attach in their complaint the IP (internet protocol) address of Olivar’s post.
Senior Inspector Myrna Diploma of the NCRPO Public Information Office earlier said they still needed to coordinate with the police’s Anti-Cybercrime Unit to secure the IP address.
Under the decree, violators will be punished with imprisonment of not more than five years or a fine of not more than P40,000.
Olivar and Uson are also facing a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly violating the amended Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and Cybercrime Prevention Act. — Kristine Joy Patag
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