Facebook users on unfriending spree after Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Do you think people should unfriend others on social media because of their sentiments on Duterte’s arrest?

MANILA, Philippines – Apparently, for a lot of Filipino social media users, all it takes is one unprecedented arrest of a former head of state to clean up their friends and mutuals list.

The political divide between Filipinos has never been more apparent than when former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested for his alleged crimes against humanity, detained at Villamor Air Base, and then brought out of the country to face the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands on Tuesday, March 11. [READ: What are the legal issues in Duterte’s arrest and transfer to The Hague?]

Duterte has been the subject of an ICC investigation since 2018 due to his war on drugs, which claimed thousands of lives and waged when he was Davao City mayor then later on when he became Philippine president. The ICC issued a warrant of arrest against the former president through the Interpol, which then carried this out at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 upon Duterte’s arrival from Hong Kong. 

Amidst the celebration, tears, and calls for another people power, and the occasional “group Hague” and pizza memes online, Filipinos also took time to announce any one who supports either Duterte, or agrees with the ICC arrest, should immediately cease to be a friend.

Cries of “unfriend now” were used by netizens to draw the line where they stand, either proudly proclaiming they stand behind Duterte, or reminding their friends and families of the lives lost due to his bloody drug war.

Some Facebook pages even declared a “National Unfriend Day”.

Others claimed the arrest made it so much easier to spot the people they want to cut off their ties to, while some took it as a chance to open themselves up to make new friends instead.

Filipinos also used the unfriending spree to call out fellow social media users. “‘Di lang sayo umiikot ang mundo.” (The world does not revolve around you.)

Meanwhile, others found themselves in hot water after expressing their thoughts on the Duterte arrest, with some big personalities like two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player Kevin Quiambao and former National University star guard Kean Baclaan losing followers and fans after their pro-Duterte post made rounds online.

However, a Reddit user argued that Facebook users should not unfriend nor unfollow Duterte’s supporters on the platform.

“May iba sa kanila na umabot sa ganyang point kasi madali silang maniwala sa fake news. Kung mawawala ka sa feed nila, edi mas lalong magiging puro pro-[Duterte] ang mga makikita nila,” user moomoo_deul wrote.

“Keep on sharing fact-checked news and reports para kahit man lang isa sa kanila pwede pa ring mabago ang pananaw. Kahit isa lang,” they added.

(Some of Duterte’s supporters reached that point because they fall victim to disinformation easily. If you disappear from their feed, they’ll just see pro-Duterte posts all the more. Keep on sharing fact-checked news and reports so that even just one of them can change their perspective. Even just one.)

Rappler readers have considered differences in political preferences as a friendship deal-breaker, which also manifested during the 2022 presidential election.

Do you think people should unfriend others on social media because of their sentiments on Duterte’s arrest? Share your thoughts in the everyday-tech chat room of the Rappler Communities app. – Rappler.com