NBI rap vs teacher for 'seditious' tweet dismissed anew
MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation again lost its case against Ronnel Mas, this time as a Zambales prosecutor threw out their appeal, over the teacher's supposed tweet in 2020 offering a reward to have President Rodrigo Duterte killed.
Zambales Acting Provincial Prosecutor JT Leonardo Santos upheld his findings in a February 2021 resolution junking the re-filed complaint against public school teacher Mas. “Wherefore, in view of the foregoing, the motion for reconsideration is hereby denied for lack of merit,” the resolution dated June 22 but made public only on Tuesday read.
NBI agents arrested Mas in May 2020, over a tweet offering a P50-million reward to anyone who can kill the president. The teacher was arrested without a warrant, supposedly in a “hot pursuit” operation, and was subjected to inquest for complaints of Inciting to Sedition in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Warrantless arrest defective but 'cured'
Assistant State Prosecutor Jeanette Dacpano of the Department of Justice said the defective warrantless arrest of Mas was “ultimately cured” by his media admission, but this later failed at court as Olongapo Judge Richard Paradeza junked the charge and stressed that the confession, made without legal counsel, is inadmissible.
The judge added that there is a rule that states that an extrajudicial admission cures an illegal arrest, but such "can be cured only when the accused waived objection thereto."
The NBI re-filed the complaint before the Zambales prosecutor’s office, but Santos held that the bureau "failed to prove the identity of the perpetrator" as required by the Rules on Electronic Evidence.
Additional evidence
In his latest resolution, Santos reiterated that the dismissal of the complaint was not due to the absence of a cyber-warrant, but only to "enlighten the NBI agents on the proper procedure in dealing with crimes committed through the Cybercrime Prevention Act."
"The resolution seeks to imply that the arrest of the respondent is not in accordance with Rule 113 Section 5 of the Revised Rules of Court on warrantless arrest," Santos stressed, as he pointed out that when Mas was arrested, he was not committing nor had he just committed a crime.
In their appeal, the NBI submitted a CD containing a video where Mas confessed to his supposed crime and an affidavit of broadcaster Ronald Allan Sison, who said he conducted the interview of Mas.
The prosecutor pointed out that the contents of the CD content were not even authenticated.
The prosecutor also stressed that the introduction of new evidence during a motion for reconsideration is not proper. “To be clear, it is not that a crime has not been committed that the case has been dismissed. It is the sufficiency of evidence to prove that indeed the respondent is the perpetrator of the crime,” he added.
'Not a rubber stamp'
The prosecution stressed that the bureau failed to meet the quantum of evidence at the level of preliminary investigation, which is probable cause.
“This Office is not a rubberstamp where it is ministerial duty to file cases in court, especially where an agency of the government is the complainant,” Santos said.
He stressed that their office holds the duty to uphold the constitutional rights of a person who stands to be prosecuted of a crime, and it is the complainant who bears the burden of proving probable cause.
Prosecutor Santos said that while it is undeniable that there is a tweet established by the screenshots, it is important that the imputation of the act on Mas is supported by evidence.
Since the identity of the person who posted the tweet has not been duly established, “there is doubt as to administrative liability of the respondent,” the resolution further read.
The prosecution added that while seditious remarks must not go unpunished and the bureau must be commended for its effort, “the rules on evidence in establishing probable cause must be upheld.”
Santos said the bureau may still re-file its case “with the sufficient documents and evidence to establish probable cause.”
But lawyer Dino De Leon, Mas’ counsel, said it would be better for the NBI to accept defeat and stop harassing his client.
"The officers concerned should be reminded that President [Rodrigo] Duterte's term is about to end, but their administrative and criminal accountabilities for their illegal actions remain. I urge then to observe the rule of law and to move on," De Leon added.
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