A Filipino blogger has been detained, accused of inciting sedition through a Facebook post that allegedly made a subtle death threat against the president.
On October 3, video blogger Michael “Mike” Romero posted a photo showing President Ferdinand Marcos with other officials outside Bogo’s earthquake-damaged city hall in central Philippines.
The image featured a red arrow pointing to Marcos’ head accompanied by the single-word caption “headshot,” according to the National Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday.
“In the context of shooters and law enforcement, ‘headshot’ implies shooting in the head,” bureau director Jaime Santiago stated at a press conference, where the suspect appeared handcuffed behind him.
“We took his statement seriously,” Santiago further remarked.
The bureau plans to file criminal charges against Romero, alleging incitement to sedition and making a grave threat, offenses that carry a minimum sentence of six years in prison.
“Vloggers have rights to freedom of speech and expression, but there are boundaries,” Santiago explained.
“When threats or attempts involve the president or vice president, we intervene,” he added.
Romero, who boasts 98,000 followers, describes himself on Facebook as a staunch supporter of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, as well as a pop singer and tech expert.
The original “headshot” post has been deleted and replaced with a similar image, retaining the arrow but changing the caption to “City Hall is really accurate.”
This new caption seemingly references the building’s exterior signage, as “Bogo” is both the city’s name and a word meaning “dumb” or “stupid” in Cebuano.
Monitoring group Article 19 reports a global decline in freedom of expression, with increasing speech restrictions. The Philippines ranked 95th out of 161 in this year’s Global Freedom of Expression Report.
