Team DailyPedia
The 2016 national election has proven to be one of the most divisive ones in recent memory. Social media has played a huge part in fueling that fire, with supporters going as far to cyber bully those who do not share the same opinion or choice of candidate.
One woman has had enough of the threats of harm and abuse she received from unruly supporters of one candidate. Human rights defender and climate advocate Renee Juliene Karunungan filed a case against 20 supporters of Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte after being cyberbullied when she posted her opinion about the mayor online.
Karunungan told reporters that she was subjected to death and rape threats after posting a meme that “Duterte is a lazy choice” on her Facebook account on March 22, 2016. She only discovered the threatening messages when she checked her inbox on April 7 which contained 200 “filtered” Facebook messages.
Karunungan then posted screenshots of the hate messages she received from Duterte supporters on April 7 which went viral. She later filed a case with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the Department of Justice (DoJ).
“Online threats of murder, rape, serious physical injuries are no laughing matter. These constitute crimes under the Revised Penal Code, Cybercrime Law and the Omnibus Election Code. These kinds of criminal behavior need to stop. For this reason, I have decided to file criminal cases against those who have sent me threats.
“My rights offline are the same as my rights online. There is a difference between freedom of speech and speech that incites violence. It is time that people know the difference. We should not condone violence especially on the basis of political views. This kind of behavior is unacceptable and is a threat to our democracy and violates our basic rights,” Karunungan said.
Karunungan’s lawyer Atty. Rowena “JJ” Disni commented that while the Constitution protects the free speech of its citizen, it does not allow committing crimes against someone else.
“We should as a society encourage sober online and off-line discussions about important issues such as the choice of who will lead the country. We do not wish to punish any candidate’s supporters but to remind or citizens as they play their role in the political arena, they should not cross the line to committing crimes.” Disni said in a press statement.
In connection to this, there have been various isolated incidents of supporters of a different candidate coming into conflict with unruly and even violent supporters of the similarly tough Mayor Duterte.
Statement:
“April 30th at 6:00 PM. While me and my peers who are supporters of madam Miriam Defensor-Santiago were campaigning and doing our regular rounds, supporters of Duterte talked to us saying we are not allowed in the area. While I was in the middle of talking to them, I was suddenly punched and threatened that if we do not leave, they will gang up on us since most of the people in the area are for Duterte. They threatened that if we don’t leave it is better if they punch us. Upon punching me, people (Mayor Duterte supporters) started coming in and called for reinforcements. What I did was go to the nearest barangay outpost and thanked God they were immediately apprehended at that time. They are finally jailed! Their bet hasn’t even won and yet here they are, ready to kill. Is this the change that they are fighting for? Where is the justice here? Where is the change? You can’t even ‘change’ yourselves, and here you are already ready to kill someone just to prove that you are a ‘toughie’ and your president is Duterte. I wish you wake up to the truth that your agenda of putting Duterte into the Presidency even if it means killing just to prove that you are the law is wrong. This shouldn’t happen again. This is a proof that I am one of the persons whom you’ve hurt. I can’t properly hear. I lost my hearing and my face became swollen because of how you hit me. I hope you open your eyes and I will never let this pass. I will fight to the death if that is what it takes. I will fight until the end. I will not surrender like madam Miriam Defensor-Santiago who never surrendered. I will fight for what is right!”
Earlier news reports have also documented the questionable manner in which some supporters of Duterte conducted their on-the_ ground campaigns. The Davao City Mayor’s spokesperson initially released a statement addressing these kinds of incidents which serves as a reminder to the passionate supporters.
“From Day 1, we have called on our followers to take the moral high ground and take caution in social media. In behalf of Mayor Duterte, we reiterate such call and appeal to our social media supporters to stop bashing and even threatening journalists as well as all who express views different from ours,” said Peter Lavina, Duterte’s campaign spokesman.
