Libel case filed by NBI exec junked

THE Office of the City Prosecutor (OCP) of the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) has junked the libel case filed against a Davao-based freelance reporter, a Davao-based businesswoman, and an unnamed accused.

In a resolution issued on October 10, 2017, City Prosecutor Joseph M. Apao dismissed the Libel in relation to Sec 4 (c) of RA 10175 (Cyber libel) filed by former National Bureau of Investigation South Eastern Mindanao Regional Office (NBISemro 11) Regional Director lawyer Arnold D. Rosales against Editha Z. Caduaya, Amadea L. Aquino, and an unnamed editor of Newsline Philippines.

"After carefully evaluating the diverging arguments of the parties herein, the undersigned is of the view that the complainant failed to establish malice in fact necessary to establish probable cause to make a case for cyber- libel, and hence, finds for the respondents," Apao said.

The complaint stemmed from a news article published by the Newsline Philiipines in its internet page on August 12, 2017 entitled "NBI Boss 11 others in hot water over ‘for the boys' raps".

The article made reference to the entrapment operation conducted by NBI-Semro 11 on August 7, 2017 of an establishment named Upside Down, Inside Out, within the Plaza Roman KTV Bar Compound situated along Cabaguio Ave., Davao City. The article was written by Caduaya.

Rosales in his complaint decried the news report as being defamatory as it portrays him as a corrupt official. He said he was unjustly implicated in an alleged mulcting activity of some NBISemro 11 personnel in the amount of P500,000. KVC(For full story visit www.sunstar.com.ph/ davao/)