The author of a social media post claiming Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año advised couples to practice physical distancing after sex would be facing charges.
DILG spokesman Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said Año filed a complaint against the suspect, 26-year-old Gabriel Marvin Cabier, a resident of Cebu City, after completing their investigation.
“Opisyal na pong nakapagsampa ng kaso si DILG Secretary Año sa nagpakalat ng malisyoso at maling impormasyon na nagsasabing sinabi niya diumano na mag-physical distancing ang mga couple matapos mag-sex,” Malaya said in a press statement.
“Ang pagsasampa natin ng kaso ay isang paalala na maging responsable po tayo sa ating ipinopost sa social media. Gamitin po natin ito para sa kabutihan lalo na at tayo ay nahaharap sa isang matinding krisis,” Malaya added.
Cabier would be facing charges for alleged violation of Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code (Unlawful Use of Means of Publication and Unlawful Utterances) concerning Section 6 of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and Article 142 RPC as amended by Presidential Decree 1974 in relation to RA 10175, Malaya said.
He said the complaints were filed before the Quezon City Prosecutor Office.
“We pushed through with the filing of criminal cases as a warning to all would-be perpetrators of fake news to think twice before they do something similar. We will prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law. Mali po ito at hindi po natin ito dapat kunsintihin,” he said.
DILG is currently waiting for the prosecutor to release the subpoena while Cabier already deleted his ‘physical distancing after sex’ post.
Año denies ‘physical distancing after sex’ advise
“We at the DILG are not inclined to make such false and malevolent claims, neither will we tolerate them. False and derogatory news like these intend to impugn the institution’s credibility and undermine the progress we have thus far accomplished in the fight for Filipino survival,” Año earlier said in a press statement.
“In these troubling times, we at the Department believe that the right step to healing and recovery is not through divisive and disparaging means,” he added.