DOJ: Jayme sedition case not a ‘clamp down’ on website makers
MANILA, Philippines — The sedition charge against website administrator Rodel Jayme is not a “clamp down” against website makers, an official from the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday.
Acting Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon clarified that creating a website is not a crime by itself. He said that there are other pieces of evidence that were factored in which led the DOJ to lodge an inciting to sedition case against Jayme in relation to Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
READ: DOJ indicts Rodel Jayme over inciting to sedition case
“I want to dispel the thought that this is a clamp down. I’d like to let the public know and website makers that in this particular case that it was not just a matter that creating a website,” Fadullon said in an interview over ABS CBN News Channel.
“The fact that he created a website is not a crime by itself. There were other factors and other pieces of evidence that were taken into consideration by the Department when it came up with its resolution finding a probable cause against Jayme,” he added.
Fadullon said the pieces of evidence that were material to the case against Jayme were the conversations that were lifted from his computer when authorities implemented a search warrant.
“The conversations would confirm the fact that there’s really something more than what meets the eye here in this case considering that it is not simply a creation of a website,” he said.
“Here, NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) did something more than just rely on the reports that was given to the, they did not rely solely on the complaint, they went deeper and got into the very computer of Jayme,” Fadullon added.
Fadullon also clarified that the DOJ is not giving Jayme “any special attention.”
“It’s not as if the department is giving any special attention to the case of Rodel Jayme,” he said.
“The NBI did file a case against him, they brought him to the DOJ for inquest, and naturally it’s a matter of course, the Department will have to act on it, conduct its own investigation, and come up with its own findings,” Fadullon added. /muf
