A sedition complaint was filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, Jan. 15, against a vlogger who allegedly called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to topple the government.
Charged was Elemente Enrique, also a former Philippine Army officer with the rank of captain, in the complaint filed by PNP Brig. Gen. Nicholas D. Torre, chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).
Sedition is a crime in the Philippines that involves inciting people to violently revolt against the government or its authorities. The crime includes spreading false information to cause panic.
The complaint against Enrique was filed in relation to the Cybercrime Law, Torre told journalists.
“Napakaraming instances na calling (There were many instances he was calling) for sedition against the government and even during the time when I was regional director of Davao during the hunt for Quiboloy,” said Torre.
Prior to being PNP-CIDG chief, Torre headed the Police Regional Office 11 of the Davao Region that arrested Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder and pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy who is facing non-bailable charges of qualified trafficking in persons.
“‘Yung isa sa mga instances na sinabi niya, yung i-abandon namin ang pag-implement ng warrant of arrest kay Quiboloy before (One of the things he did was to ask law enforcement to drop the implementation the arrest warrant against Quiboloy),” cited Torre.
“At ngayon naman (And now), he is calling on the Armed Forces and the PNP to abandon this government and topple it, to withdraw the support," he added.
He said that “in a democracy, lahat naman may karapatan na mag-express ng kanilang mga hinaing (everybody has the right to express their grievances).”
“That’s the beauty of democracy pwede ka mag-express ng iyong opinyon (you can express your own opinion). However, there are limitations. It should be made within the bounds of the law,” he pointed out.