Woman arrested in Cebu for offering ₱75M reward to kill Duterte

Cebu (CNN Philippines, May 13) — Cebu police arrested a woman on Wednesday morning for allegedly offering online a ₱75-M bounty to anyone who will kill President Rodrigo Duterte. The arrest came two days after authorities apprehended a teacher in Zambales who made a similar reward offer for the President's slay.

Maria Catherine Ceron, 26, will be charged with inciting to sedition, according to Major Roland Tolosa, deputy chief of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas.

"This is not a joke," Tolosa told reporters. "Fair warning to all citizens to avoid such posts."

It was unclear when Ceron posted the "seditious posts" on Facebook, but Tolosa said "social media exploitation and online investigations" led to her arrest.

Ceron denied that she posted the bounty offer, saying someone hacked her account, Tolosa added. Her post and Facebook account have since been deleted but she will still face charges, the police official said.

Ceron is in the investigation groups' field unit in Mandaue City, where she will also face charges for violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act.

In the same week, the National Bureau of Investigation arrested a teacher in Zambales for offering a ₱50 million reward to kill Duterte. He will also face sedition and cybercrime charges as well as for violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials.