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MANILA, Philippines – The Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office has recommended the filing of a cyber libel case against blogger Rey Joseph “RJ” Nieto, also known as “Thinking Pinoy” on Facebook.
In a statement on Saturday, June 30, the office of opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said the prosecutor’s office recommended the filing in court of a libel case against Nieto under Section 4(c)(4) of Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Trillanes earlier filed a cyber libel complaint against Nieto, who alleged in a Facebook post that United States President Donald Trump called the senator a drug lord.
A Duterte supporter who’s behind some of the most vicious attacks on Filipino journalists, Nieto once served as a consultant at the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs, and has been called by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines a “barefaced liar.”
In the signed resolution provided to media by Trillanes’ office, Associate Prosecution Attorney Honey Rose Delgado said: “Needless to say, the false and baseless defamatory imputation against complainant (Trillanes) must tend to cause, or has caused him dishonor, discredit, and/or contempt.”
She added, “The false imputation, at the time it was posted, was sufficient to induce the viewers/audience on Facebook to suppose and understand that complainant was guilty of certain offense or was sufficient to impeach his honesty, virtue, or reputation.”
Delgado stressed that while a public official must not be “onion-skinned,” 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.”
Trillanes said this should serve as a warning to Nieto and other Duterte bloggers “to stop peddling lies as part of their propaganda.” (READ: State-sponsored hate: The rise of pro-Duterte bloggers)
“Their activities reflect the kind of administration that they support. Sooner or later, they will all be accountable for their actions,” he added.
In his complaint filed last November 2017, Trillanes said Nieto is liable for cyber libel and should be imprisoned as well as made to pay for civil damages amounting to P1 million and legal fees of P250,000. – Rappler.com
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