On Friday, March 17, a 20-year-old student was arrested in Brgy. Calumpang, General Santos City after allegedly making libelous remarks on Facebook.
According to the Region 12 anti-cybercrime group, a student named Ellen Jane Amado is now facing charges of online libel after posting hateful remarks against a 16-year-old. The authorities reported that she even named the victim on her social media account.
Police Chief Inspector Leo Dofiles, Anti-Cybercrime Group 12 head said that Amado edited her post upon knowledge of authorities. She deleted the victim’s name and corrected her post. However, the officials saw her edit history and discovered that she really dropped the victim’s name online.
'Kasi in-edit niya, tinanggal niya yung pangalan. So, nakita ngayon iyun ng mga relatives, kaibigan nung complainant iyung post na ito, kaya nagpunta sila dito sa office at nag-file ng complaint,” Dofiles said.
He also reported that the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding between the parties which happened on Facebook as well. They exchanged tirades with each other in one of the victim’s online posts.
The suspect refused to give comments on the allegations. ABS-CBN News said that she is now under the custody of the anti-cybercrime group.
Meanwhile, the officials reminded online users about expressing their thoughts on social media. They said that the ‘freedom of speech’ does not mean immunity from the freedom to file legal charges against shameful remarks made online.
“Without them knowing na yung ginagawa nila is nakaka-infringe na rin nung right ng ibang tao. Kasi ang iniisip lang nila is, karapatan ko iyan magsalita, freedom of expression ko, freedom of speech ko. We know you have that freedom, however, when your freedom nakakaapak na rin ng freedom ng iba tao, may karapatan din yung inaapakan mo na mag-file din ng kaso laban sa’yo,” Dofiles added, courtesy of ABS-CBN.
Dofiles also reported that online libel has been on top of the most crimes committed online since 2016 with 494 cases reported. It was followed with online scamming which has 444.
Do you think it is a right to file legal charges against libelous or hate comments made on Facebook or other social media platforms? Tell us your opinion!
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