“MASAHOL PA SA ILLEGAL RECRUITER AT HUMAN TRAFFICKER SI REY JOSEPH NIETO AKA THINKING PINOY. DAPAT DIYAN TAKALAN AT PILAHAN NG MGA RAPIST NA MAY STD SA BILANGUAN ARAW ARAW HANGGANG MAMATAY!” (English translation: “Rey Joseph Nieto aka Thinking Pinoy is worse than an illegal recruiter and human trafficker. He should be beaten up and gang raped by criminals with STD everyday until he dies.”)
That is what a friend and long time Duterte supporter said to me upon reading various posts on social media about how Thinking Pinoy RJ Nieto’s act of uploading and sharing a video of an OFW being rescued in Kuwait doomed thousands of Filipinos who are still in Kuwait.
Nieto’s uploading and sharing of the video was the spark which eventually led to the Kuwaiti government to declare Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa persona non grata and to recall the Kuwait Ambassador to the Philippines.
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
In the statement issued by the Kuwaiti government, it was said:
The foreign ministry cited the Philippines’ “flagrant and grave breach of rules and regulations that govern diplomatic action, where staff helped Filipina house helpers run away.”
Philippine officials had sent “reinforcements to the embassy in Kuwait; comprised of seven teams affiliated with the foreign undersecretary for labor in immigration at pretext of rescuing female housemaids in Kuwait. The State of Kuwait Government affirms that such acts and statements constitute explicit breach of international principles and covenants,” the ministry said.
The report cited violations of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, namely Provision 41 that bars infringement on individuals’ prerogatives and immunities, respecting states’ laws and non-intervening in their local affairs.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/04/25/1809616/philippine-ambassador-kuwait-declared-persona-non-grata#hD0T6G6XUYym7rjv.99
Because of the diplomatic row instigated by Nieto’s uploading and sharing of the rescue video, Filipinos working in Kuwait now face a greater risk of being abused, beaten, or killed.
As expected, Nieto demonstrates his inability to show some balls and own up to sparking a diplomatic row.
In a post, Nieto fixes the blame on DFA personnel and falsely claims that he did not cause the DFA to release the rescue video.
In his sick and perverted mind, Nieto deludes himself by thinking that not being the first to upload and post the rescue video absolves him of any liability.
I’m no lawyer, but that’s just like Nieto saying that he shot someone only after seeing that the person had already been stabbed.
An international lawyer who chatted me up regarding Nieto’s criminal blunder said that he could be charged for violating Revised Penal Code Article 118 which says:
Inciting to war or giving motives for reprisals. — The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee, and that of prision mayor upon any private individual, who, by unlawful or unauthorized acts provokes or gives occasion for a war involving or liable to involve the Philippine Islands or exposes Filipino citizens to reprisals on their persons or property.
In addition to Nieto, people at the DFA also stand to be charged with violation of RPC Article 118.
In a news report, it is said that Acting DFA Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy Elmer Cato posted at least two videos in the official Viber group of reporters who cover the DFA. Whenever the DFA posts photos, videos, or information through this Viber group, it means reporters can use these.
Following this, a post on Facebook surfaced where Drei Natabio, an assistant of DFA OUMWA Usec Sara Lou Y. Arriola, was said to have posted the rescue video.
I am not exactly sure how DFA-OUMWA Exec. Dir. Raul Dado fits in to the whole thing, but Nieto credits him for the video.
The next one to share the video was Philippine Star, after which, Nieto uploaded and shared the rescue video.
It must be noted that Philippine Star’s video was marked with the Philippine Star logo on the right corner and Nieto’s video didn’t have any markings, which leads me to assume that he had gotten his video from the DFA.
The thing is Usec. Sara Lou Y. Arriola is said to provide Nieto with a hefty allowance in exchange for his services. One wonders if Arriola is willing to take the cudgels for Nieto and accept any liability for his actions?
At some point, Nieto was said to have billed the rescue video as “DFA in action” and from the looks of it, was attempting to make DFA look good to the OFW community.
If at all Arriola ordered Nieto to share the video, she should have known that releasing the video would be tantamount to providing the Kuwaiti government with evidence that agents of the Philippine government were engaged in violating its laws.
Arriola should have known that this had the potential to spark an international row and also prove embarrassing to Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.
Someone observing the whole fiasco asked me if this was in anyway connected to a series of “blind items” unleashed by DWIZ Karambola radio talk show host Jojo Robles, whom RJ Nieto shares air time with.
This led the observer to ask, “Were Nieto, Arriola, Dado, and Cato really trying to make the DFA-OUMWA look good? Or are they playing a part in a smear campaign against Secretary Cayetano?”
Writer.
It was the DFA which released the video and it was GMA’s coverage which made it gain national and international attention. Did GMA find out about it because TP shared it? Could be. But the one responsible for the video’s public release was DFA.
All those who shared it are liable.
The DFA released the video without Sec Cayetano’s consent and approval. Now everyone’s blaming him. I don’t like Sec Cayetano myself but I still respect him. It is a blunder but TP heightened the scandal to a level where the country is unnecessarily put on a hot seat. TP is a bad influence. He is arrogant and judgmental. He is against those whose mindsets are different from his. He is the reason why Contreras lost his spot on the talk show Karambola. I stopped watching that show the moment TP entered. Let TP account for his own blunder and stop being a rabid “tsismoso.”
The video was uploaded by DFA Staff PUBLICLY so NO. It’s not a crime to share the video.
A breach in trust brings mistrust, followed by a multitude of troubles.
So Thinking Pinoy was not really thinking?
It is a stupid thing to do for these idiotic people, to release the rescue mission videos, for all to see. We already know that OFWs in Kuwait, are being maltreated, and even murdered and put in freezers.
On the other hand, if an American is held hostage in a foreign country. America’s Special Forces, or U.S. Navy Seal , will go for a rescue, in whatever country, they are held hostage. U.S. Navy Seal Team 6, killed, Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, some years ago. Pakistan was known to harbor Taliban fighters , Al Queda and ISIS terrorists.
The U.S. Navy Seal Team 6, were never extradited to Pakistan, and face trial in Pakistan. There was a diplomatic furor in Pakistan. However, that was all that happened. The U.S. is a Superpower. It is fighting terrorism. So, it claimed , it did right in Pakistan in killing Bin Laden. We are not a superpower. We send OFWs, to foreign countries, to float our economy.
See the difference ?
Drawing parallel , on this circumstances. The Philippines is sending, its Slave/servants to work for starvation pay , as OFWs in Kuwait. The Filipino OFWs are being maltreated. Some even are murdered and placed in freezers. So, I believe that the Filipinos have the right to rescue their countrymen.
Let us not point fingers, on who to blame for uploading this idiotic video. Let us talk face to face , with the Kuwaiti government to renegotiate the deal, for the protection of our OFWs.
too much criticism on someone who did not even upload the original vid. Those who abused our kababayans in Kuwait are worse y’know. All I think again after reading this is the usual crab mentality we all are too familiar with
If the DFA didn’t post the incriminating video on the OFW rescue in Kuwait that went viral on the net, Thinking Pinoy RJ Nieto wouldn’t repost it to spark a diplomatic row, would it?
I gotta say, the author is really out for TP’s blood. Most of his recent posts are against TP’s actions. Did I… miss anything? I don’t have a social media account so I probably did.
That said, I can’t say TP is on the right though. It doesn’t matter if you’re not the “first to upload”, it’s the fact that he even uploaded it is subject to scrutiny. Add to that, TP himself is boasting significant numbers on social media, so his upload reaches more people, who in turn then shares the video further, eventually reaching the Kuwaiti government’s attention. The act of “rescuing” itself is what is straining our negotiations, and the video only serves as evidence against the Philippines.
Jesus Filipino Christ. This author again.. He’s been at it 3 days in a row with a crab so far up his ass that its claws must be doing the typing. The DFA released the original video .. READ: THE GOVERNMENT. So your lawyer friend is saying that by someone sharing something officially released by THE GOVERNMENT online, that Nieto should be responsible for inciting war (and even that is a far-reaching Filipino fantasy.)
Someone please talk to this author privately and remind him that this place is not a soapbox to grind your ax upon.
Guess again . GRP actually is a soapbox for all of its authors to speak their minds. You can join us if you want. That is, if you’ve got the chops to write what you think and defend what you write.
Fair enough, and thanks for the response. I’m one to try and remain neutral when it comes to judging people involved in politics here (and partly because I’m not Filipino and I can’t vote or be recognized anyways)… But this is 3 articles in a row on the same subject, similar to reading the scripted mainstream news stories about whatever scandal of the week/month is going on. Perhaps that is a story in itself…