Desperation is the main motivation of the dilawans with the hope of distracting the nation from Vice President Leni Robredo’s silence on the President’s offer to her to lead the drug war as the country’s drug czar.

For a brief moment, the yellows claimed victory with the purported publication of an article by the Bangkok Post putting the President in a bad light, which nearly went viral online had it not been for the watchful eyes of the supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte. A screenshot was shared by a number of dilawan netizens that showed the front page of the Bangkok Post with the story headline — “King orders PH Duterte, behave during ASEAN Summit.” Only idiots will fall for it.

First of all, the ASEAN Summit to be attended by President Duterte and fellow world leaders has not started yet at the time of the supposed publication of the bogus article last Thursday — it was slated to start on Saturday, 2 November, and President Duterte arrived on 1 November. Next — the King is not expected to attend the ASEAN, it is their Prime Minister, Retired Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha. Lastly, an eight-year old can easily see that the Bangkok Post front page was badly edited by some good-for-nothing, attention-seeking keyboard warrior with an admiration for the destabilizers of government.

The worst part is idiots did fall for it, thinking the bogus publication to be genuine, and they were fast in sharing the bogus article in their own FB groups. As Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar was lightning quick in bursting their yellow bubble by his immediate posting of a video where he held a copy of the actual front page of the Bangkok Post with the same format and stories as the one shared by the dilawans, except for the story on which our President was mentioned. Instead, it was a headline that was not related at all about the ASEAN, but on network connectivity situation, 5G to be exact, in Thailand.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo brought it up a notch, exhibiting his prowess in legalese, by stating that the black propaganda was “deliberate and malicious” and that those behind it must be frightened for insulting the King of Thailand. Panelo shared that Thailand has the strictest and harshest lèse majesté law in the world, or the law penalizing individuals who defame the King, sentencing those convicted by as much as 15 years in prison. Thailand does not distinguish among its citizens and foreigners, hence a charge may be filed against the culprit, and President Duterte, I’m sure, would be more than willing to send him/her to the Thailand King’s hands for his disposal. After all, President Duterte has always said that Filipinos must follow foreign laws for international comity.

Desperation, yet again, is the main motivation of the dilawans with the hope of distracting the nation from Vice President Leni Robredo’s silence on the President’s offer to her to lead the drug war as the country’s drug czar and be part of the Cabinet once again. Anyone keen on politics would accept this post in a second, but not our Vice President who clearly trembled with the thought. No statement has been issued yet by the Vice President; only her spokesman has entertained questions from the media. After criticizing the administration’s war on drugs, as if she knew all the answers to solve this problem, VP Leni crumbles and folds, now possesses zero credibility and standing to talk against the administration.

Black propaganda was used to derail key meetings of President Duterte during the ASEAN, which most especially includes a meeting on the security situation in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal on the trade relations among ASEAN nations. President Duterte is also expected to follow up on the Code of Conduct in the WPS, which is expected to be finalized soon.

As earlier mentioned, only idiots will believe in this piece of fake news, but with the desperation of the yellows, they will believe anything you dangle in front of them as long as it contains negative keywords defaming President Duterte. Word is, one dilawan blogger shared the bogus screenshot then someone among them commented and attached the actual front page, leading to the immediate deletion with the post, but not without DDS-supporters having taken a screenshot of it.

Tough luck, guys, but that is the nature of social media. Next time, have some cojones, fight it throughout, or better yet, never ever alter the truth and mislead the public. While President Duterte may be kind enough to let this pass, it is definitely not the same with the King of Thailand and his most loyal subjects. Start hiding then!