MANILA, Philippines – A Pasig City court has ordered the arrest of Manibela head Mar Valbuena over the cyber libel charges stemming from the complaints filed by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista.

In an order dated April 23, Presiding Judge Manuel Gerard Tomacruz of Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 158 issued a warrant of arrest against the transport group head. The judge set bail at P10,000 for each of the two counts of cyber libel filed against Valbuena.

The resolution of the prosecution ordering the filing of charges against Valbuena was only publicized last week. In the resolution dated February 22, Assistant State Prosecutor Maria Kristhina Paat-Salumbides recommended the filing of two counts of cyber libel against Valbuena.

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The same resolution, meanwhile, junked the grave threats complaint filed against the transport group head for lack of probable cause.

In 2023, Bautista filed the cyber libel complaints against Valbuena who, he said, accused him of alleged corruption. Bautista’s complaints are based on Valbuena’s remarks in a press conference on October 9, where the Manibela head claimed that there was a “lagayan (bribery) scheme” that stretches from the DOTr, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board up to to the Office of the President.

Aside from the cyber libel charges, Valbuena and his fellow Manibela leaders were recently sued by the Quezon City Police District for their alleged “disruptive behavior” during a transport strike earlier in April. Valbuena, however, refuted the police’s claims and said they did not violate any law. – Rappler.com