DOJ recommends P72-k bail for teacher arrested over anti-Duterte tweet

The Department of Justice is recommending bail of P72,000 for the provisional liberty of the public high school teacher who will be charged in court over a tweet offering P50 million for President Rodrigo Duterte's head.

Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said Friday he was told the prosecutor recommended the amount as bail. "Under the rules of court, an accused may still petition the court to lower the bail," he said in a message to reporters.

Ronnel Mas, a 25-year-old teacher from Zambales, was arrested for tweeting that he was offering a P50-million reward to anyone who could kill the president.

He was tracked down by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), arrested without a warrant, and brought to Manila for inquest earlier this week. He is still in NBI custody.

He will be charged for inciting to sedition in relation to cybercrime before a court in Zambales next week.

In Malay, Aklan, police arrested a construction worker over a Facebook post in which he allegedly offered P100-million to who could kill Duterte.

In Agusan del Norte, police also arrested a salesman who had made a supposedly "libelous" statement against the president and his ally and former top aide, Senator Bong Go, on social media.

On the salesman's case, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the inquest prosecutor will determine not only whether there was probable cause to believe the man committed a crime, but also whether the warrantless arrest was valid.

"Inducing others to kill or cause physical harm to someone, whether the latter be the president of the republic or an ordinary citizen, will give rise to criminal liability. Let's think before we tweet," Guevarra also said.

According to the Rules of Court, warrantless arrests are allowed in three instances: when a person is caught in the act of committing a crime, when there is probable cause to believe that a person committed a crime that has just been committed, or when a prisoner has escaped. — RSJ, GMA News