VICE presidential candidate Walden Bello is facing a P10-million cyber libel case after former Davao City Information Officer (CIO) Jefry Tupas formally filed a complaint against him on Monday afternoon, March 7, 2022.
Tupas, together with her lawyer, Caesar S. Europa, formally filed a complaint at the Davao City Prosecutor's Office on Monday afternoon.
This is in response to Bello's post online accusing the former CIO of being involved in a drug trade.
"Today, I filed a cyber libel case against Mr. Walden Bello for the baseless, below-the-belt, hurtful, disparaging, damaging things he has said about me and against me during his recent online press conference," Tupas said in a media press conference.
"Everything that Mr. Walden Bello has said about me, and against me, were false, unfair, malicious, and downright unacceptable -- causing me emotional distress as they irreparably damaged my name, my reputation, my future," she added.
Bello posted on his Facebook account his reaction to the non-appearance of Davao City Mayor and fellow vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte-Carpio in the CNN Philippines debate on Saturday, February 26.
"Sara with a drug dealer? If Davao City is so 'multi-awarded,' why is it that... Mayor Duterte's Press Information Officer Jefry Tupas was nabbed at a beach party where he and her friends were snorting P1.5 million worth of drugs on November 6, 2021? That she did not know she was sheltering a drug dealer is not credible," the vice presidential candidate said.
According to Tupas, the post, as of Monday, has over 6,000 viewers, and shared around a hundred times.
"The last time I checked, the social media card that he posted, screaming with graphics calling me a drug dealer, has been shared more than 270 times, and many of the 213 comments directed against me were unpleasant," she said.
The post, as of Monday, has not yet been taken down.
"People like Mr. Walden Bello must be taught a lesson -- that they cannot as they should not be allowed to, run away with their actions and words that destroy the lives of private citizens like me," Tupas said.
It was the former CIO's first media appearance, months after her resignation from the position.
The Office of the City Mayor confirmed Tupas's resignation, but she was also terminated from her post after being involved in a drug raid on November 6, 2021 in Mabini, Davao de Oro.
Prior to her resignation, Tupas, in a message forwarded to the media late Monday evening, November 8, confirmed that she was at the beach party in a resort in Barangay Pindasan, Mabini, Davao de Oro on Saturday, November 6, wherein P1.5 million worth of party drugs was confiscated by law enforcers.
Tupas confirmed her presence before the raid, which resulted in the arrest of 17 individuals for possession of illegal drugs.
Europa said they are still studying the possibility of filing legal charges to those who had commented and shared the post against his client.
The lawyer said they might file a complaint to Facebook with regards to the said post.
Europa, however, said that the case will still push through even if Bello will take down the post and issue a public apology.
When asked if issuing a public apology will constitute an admission of guilt, he said, "In a sense, yes."
As of Monday, Bello has not issued a public statement in response to Tupas's legal charges.
