DILG claims Karapatan spreading false info on campus journo Molo

The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Saturday urged human rights group Karapatan to stop spreading misinformation and refrain from accusing the national government of suppressing the rights of campus journalist Joshua Molo.

“Napakadali namang mag fact-check at kausapin mismo ang mga taong involved tungkol sa totoong nangyari. Paano ninyo maipagtatanggol daw ang mga karapatan ng mga naaapi kung wala kayong solid facts? Huwag sana na lagi na lang sisi sa gobyerno at laging ang gobyerno ang may kasalanan. Nakikita tuloy ang tunay n’yong agenda,” DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a statement.

Malaya added the government had no plans nor even an inkling of a plan to file charges against Molo for exercising his rights.

“The claim of Karapatan that it was the [Philippine National Police] that accommodated the allegations of Joshua’s former high school teachers is not only unfounded but totally baseless,” the DILG official argued further.

“Molo’s former high school teacher came to the Cabiao Police Station on April 5, 2020 complaining that Molo allegedly posted libelous remarks in his FB account but this was immediately dismissed by the Chief of Police himself,” Malaya alleged.

“No charges were filed by the Cabiao Police so how can Karapatan say that they accommodated the complaint?”

Karapatan insisted on Thursday claimed that the government forced Molo, the editor in chief of UE Dawn, into filming an apology video for criticizing the administration’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

Malaya said it was Molo himself who said in his Twitter account last April 5 that barangay officials did not harass or force him into issuing the public apology.

He added Molo even said the barangay officials welcomed them because his mother was a barangay tanod.

Malaya urged Karapatan to verify its facts and reiterated that the government respected Molo’s right to freedom of expression as this was based on the 1987 Constitution.

In the case of the barangay officials, Malaya said they were only doing their duty to “undertake conciliation and community-based alternative dispute resolution between parties as provided in the local government code.”

“During the conciliation proceedings, the records of the barangay showed that Molo agreed to do a public apology but it was an apology to his former HS teacher who complained against him and it was never an apology for his criticism against the government. That is clear in his video that has been circulating,” he said.

Arbitrary definition

Meanwhile, Malaya criticized Karapatan for alleging that Republic Act 11468 or the “Bayanihan Act” arbitrarily defined and penalized “false information” which is now allegedly being used by the NBI to issue subpoenas against people expressing criticisms online.

“The provisions of the law are clear. It did not arbitrarily define what is 'false information' but clearly defined the elements of the crime as follows: 1. no valid or beneficial effect on the population; 2. clearly geared to promote chaos, panic, anarchy, fear or confusion; 3. take advantage of the current situation to prey on the public through scams, phishing, fraudulent emails, or other similar acts,” he said.

“Given that the elements of the crime are clear, how can there be arbitrariness or discretion in the definition of the law passed by Congress?”

The DILG official also brushed off Karapatan's call for an adequate and just social amelioration program.

Malaya said the government was implementing the “largest financial assistance program in the country’s history,” at P200 billion, that would benefit 18 million families nationwide.

“But I will not be surprised if they are blind to the truth because Karapatan together with their cohorts have become blind and deaf to what is truly happening in our society because of the rigidness of their obsolete ideology and their vicious hatred of the state,” he said.

“They will make a mountain out of a molehill to sensationalize, create panic, and discredit the government because that is their sole purpose for being. Whatever happened to justice, objectivity and fairness?”

Karapatan and the College Editors Guild of the Philippines were among the groups that came to Molo’s defense after he was “forced” to issue a public apology by a teacher he had allegedly offended when he called them out for making fun of his posts that were critical of the administration.

Last April 8, Malaya had challenged the two organizations to “help the government” instead of criticizing it. — DVM, GMA News