Cedric Lee Arrested in Samar

Businessman Cedric Lee and another accused in the alleged mauling of comedian/host Vhong Navarro were served with arrest warrants on Saturday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said.

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima confirmed in a text message that Lee and another accused, Zimmer Raz, were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the local police around 11:15 a.m. Saturday in the remote area of Oras, Eastern Samar.

Lee and Raz were arrested for serious illegal detention and grave coercion cases in relation to the mauling incident at a luxury condominium in Taguig City last January 22.

The two accused will be detained at the NBI facility in Manila, de Lima said.

"My instruction is for them to be brought to Manila ASAP. They will be detained first at the NBI detention facility pending the commitment order from RTC-Taguig," de Lima said.

The arrest warrants for grave coercion cases were issued by the Taguig Metropolitan Trial Court branch 74 against Lee, Raz, model/stylist Deniece Cornejo, Bernice Lee, Jed Fernandez, Ferdinand Guerrero and Jose Paolo Calma last April 11.

Cornejo, Bernice Lee and Fernandez were able to post P12,000 bail for their temporary freedom.

A separate warrant for serious illegal detention, a non-bailable offense, was then issued by the Taguig Regional Trial Court branch 271 last April 15 for the accused, except Bernice Lee and Calma.

Earlier, a television report said a certain Cedric Lee booked a flight for Dubai on April 12 but it was subsequently cancelled.

Lee, whose group beat up Navarro at a condominium unit in Taguig, had said he has no plan to leave the country and run away from the cases

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US visa-free entry for Filipinos a Hoax

In an official statement, the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines said "there is no truth to what appears to be an online news report that the United States has announced a ‘no visa’ policy for Filipinos."

The US Department of State has denied making such an announcement, according to the Philippine Embassy. The news article, which was posted on the website called Adobo Chronicles, is "a satirical piece that should not be taken seriously," it added.

The fake report says Filipinos are no longer required to obtain a visa to stay in any US state, except Alaska, and the no-visa entry is valid for sixty days.

In order to avail the program, the article says one should download and accomplish a biographical form for submission to the US Embassy together with four 2×2 colored ‘selfie’ photos at least one week before departure.

The website, which self-claims to be "the best source of unbelievable news," has been slammed by netizens for its "irresponsible" reporting.

A commenter even criticized the site for giving people “false hopes.” She claimed that her mother called, crying because she thought the article was for real.

"You have no idea how heartbreaking it was to tell her that this article is a hoax. Congratulations Adobo chronicles, hope you are happy and getting the traffic you wished for," she posted.

Many people find satires funny and entertaining, it's a fact, but others may find it disturbing specially if the issue or subject at hand is so sensitive it would affect lives.

Obviously, Adobo Chronicles achieved its goal to grab attention, generate clicks and gain traffic. However, the writer should have considered the emotions of those who might be affected after reading a supposed good news that turned out to be a hoax.

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