Prosecutor OKs libel raps vs ‘Thinking Pinoy’

Blogger Rey Joseph Nieto has been charged with cyberlibel for falsely claiming in a Facebook post that US President Donald Trump called Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV a “narco.”

The Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office has indicted a blogger fiercely loyal to President Duterte for cyberlibel over a Facebook post that falsely claimed US President Donald Trump had called opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV a drug lord.

Rey Joseph Nieto posted on his “Thinking Pinoy” Facebook page on Oct. 31, 2017, that Trump reportedly called Trillanes a “narco,” colloquial for drug baron or drug lord.

Trillanes, a vocal critic of Mr. Duterte, filed the complaint against Nieto in November last year.

In his post, Nieto also asked, “Does Trump’s government know something?”

But verification showed that Trump had not made the statement against Trillanes, Pasay Associate Prosecutor Honey Rose Delgado said in her resolution recommending the criminal charge against Nieto.

While public officials like Trillanes must be tough against criticism and should conduct themselves properly in the face of extreme provocation, this could not be used by his critics as an excuse to make false claims against them, Delgado said.

‘Malicious’

“It is true that a public official, more especially an elected one, should not be onion-skinned,” she said. “However, this should not be an excuse for anyone to make baseless lies and make up stories against any public official, especially so when there is no good intention or justifiable motive for doing so.”

According to Delgado’s resolution, Nieto’s widely shared post was “malicious.”

Nieto made the defamatory statement even with the knowledge that it was false, or with reckless disregard of whether it was true or not, she said.

Nieto did not file a counteraffidavit during the preliminary investigation of the case.

In a Facebook post, Nieto said that while he became aware of Trillanes’ case against him through the media, he did not receive a copy of the complaint until recently. His lawyers will file the appropriate response, he said.

Trillanes’ office released a copy of Delgado’s resolution on Saturday. It was issued by Delgado in January and approved by Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Remmel Balinbin and Senior Deputy City Prosecutor Dolores Rillera earlier this month.

Cyberlibel is punishable by six to 12 years’ imprisonment, plus fines.

Trillanes is seeking P2 million in moral and exemplary damages and P250,000 in attorney’s fees.