New Tactic in Fake News!

Do you remember the story in Les Miserables where a Jean Valjean was imprisoned for almost 20 years for stealing a loaf of bread? A news bit came out recently where an old man (61 years old) was imprisoned for stealing food worth 20 pesos. The case went to court where this man had to pay Php2,000 and since he wasn't able to, was put in jail. His case was appealed and then dismissed but because of our lousy justice system, the man stayed in jail until a paralegal saw the error and he was released at once.

The news bit closes by recounting that the poor who aren't able to pay can be imprisoned for up to five years for stealing food worth 20 pesos. Sounds like the Jean Valjean of our times, right? Well, not exactly. I see this tactic being used lately where internet journalists weigh how much was lost versus the punishment without looking into what the act was.

The news bit actually mentions why the old man was jailed at all and it wasn't resolved civilly as the amount involved was just 20 pesos. But they mention it in passing and never mention it again when they weigh the punishment against the act. This old man stole food from a minor. Now, when a minor is involved, one can safely assume this wasn't a quiet theft but most likely a robbery by force.

At this point, you may see why this man was sent to jail at all. I still don't think he should've sent to jail and as his case was in fact dismissed, someone needs to answer for this. But the point of this post is to encourage you, dear reader, to open your eyes to how the media and internet activists try to manipulate information to get you to sympathize with their cause. I agree that this case should be reviewed and something must be done to avoid this from happening again.

We must always be careful to separate the story from the narrative. The story here is that a man was put in prison for a longer time than he was supposed to be held because the courts couldn't get their sh*t together. The narrative here wants you to believe that the poor can be jailed for up to five years for stealing what's essentially twenty pesos. Try to learn to distinguish one from the other.