Bondoc denies acts of sedition, rebellion

MANILA, Philippines — Lawyer Jimmy Bondoc has denied allegations of inciting to sedition, rebellion and insurrection over his Facebook post “Republic of Mindanao, coming soon.”

Bondoc yesterday filed before the Department of Justice his counter-affidavit to the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group’s complaint in December last year.

“(The post) is not inciting. It only acknowledges the public sentiment on secession,” Bondoc said, claiming that his words were “twisted into inciting to sedition.”

“There is no call to rise publicly, to take up arms, to despoil the government, to inflict acts of hate or revenge,” he added.

Bondoc said he is not advocating for secession, but noted that secession is legally possible.

“Assuming without conceding, kunwari lang, that I am calling for it, dividing territories is not immediately illegal. There are constitutional ways of doing that,” he said.