The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed inciting to sedition charges before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and vlogger Claire Contreras, known as Maharlika. The charges stem from a viral video allegedly showing a man resembling President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. snorting a white substance, which circulated online around the time of the President’s 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA).
In a letter dated April 14, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said, “This video coincided with the President’s 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA), raising suspicions of malicious timing and intent.”
Contreras faces additional charges, including unlawful use of publication and utterances, cyber libel, and computer-related forgery, all under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and relevant provisions of the Revised Penal Code. The video was first posted on Facebook and later spread through Maharlika’s page, gaining wide attention.
According to the NBI, digital investigations confirmed that the video was shown during a July 21, 2024 rally in Vancouver, Canada, where Roque told the audience to prepare for its “world premiere” and urged them to share it on social media.
“Tonight, the rumors will end,” Roque said in a second livestream in Los Angeles the next day. “Be ready to judge and act if the President was shown to be ‘bangag’.”
The NBI said the video’s timing and widespread distribution showed “intent to discredit the President, incite public outrage, and undermine the credibility and stability of the administration.”
In a broader crackdown on misinformation, the NBI also filed charges against Mary Joy dela Cerna Lacierda, lawyer Raul Lambino, and Ronald Cardema. They were accused of spreading false claims about former president Rodrigo Duterte’s supposed arrest and transport to the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite no such order from the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has since directed Lambino to explain why he should not be held accountable for spreading fake news.
