February 3, 2021
The Pasay Regional Trial Court has convicted a social media user for libel over posts against Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, the senator's office says.
"This time, the Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 188 found Manuel Mejorada guilty for four counts of online libel under Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012," Drilon's office says in a press release.
"The court also issued a warrant of arrest against Mejorada. An outstanding warrant of arrest has already been issued against Mejorada in 2020 after the Supreme Court affirmed with finality the earlier decision of the court that found Mejorada guilty of four counts of libel and sentenced him to an imprisonment of two to four years," it also says.
The court noted that Mejorada, who used to work for Drilon, made posts attacking Drilon even after graft allegations against the senator had been dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
"This court is not mindful of the intent to air grievances against public officials as well as in the discharge of their official functions. But, such must be ‘an expression of opinion based on established facts, or can be reasonably inferred from the facts," Drilon's office quotes the the court decision as saying.
Journalists and rights advocates have been calling for the decriminalization of libel, saying this has been used to silence critics.
November 21, 2019
The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and imprisonment of blogger Manuel Mejorada for libel over articles accusing Sen. Franklin Drilon of overpricing in the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center, the senator's office says in a news release.
The Supreme Court had earlier affirmed that the Court of Appeals correctly ruled that "the elements of libel were sufficiently established by the prosecution."
Drilon's office, quoting the SC ruling, said that "it was not necessary to establish that the publication was motivated by any malice since the articles were not privileged communication or fair comments; thus, malice is presumed."
Mejorada faces imprisonment of from two years, four months and a day to four years and two months.
Journalists and rights groups have been calling for libel to be decriminalized, saying it is an archaic crime that threatens freedom of speech and expression.
The Pasay City prosecutor's office indicts blogger RJ Nieto for libel in the case filed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, The STAR reports.
The Pasay City prosecutor's office indicts blogger RJ Nieto for libel in the case filed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. | @hey_marv pic.twitter.com/3t7y0wA2jp
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) June 30, 2018
Trillanes has filed a libel complaint against the "Thinking Pinoy" blogger for alleging that US President Donald Trump referred to him as a "narco" or drug lord.