PASAY CITY – Gin-convict sang Pasay Regional Trial Court ang pugante kag anay Provincial administrator nga si Manuel ‘Boy’ Mejorada nga may outstanding warrant of arrest bangud sa libelous articles batok kay Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon.
Sa ginpagwa nga desisyon sang Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 188, ginpamatbatan si Mejorada nga guilty sa four counts sang online libel sa idalom sang Republic Act No. 10175 ukon the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Sa 28 ka pahina nga desisyon nga ginpagwa ni Presiding Judge Wilhelmina B. Jorge-Wagan, apat sa lima ka mga Facebook posts nga subject sang reklamo ni Drilon ang napamatud-an nga “guilty beyond reasonable doubt of libel” sa diin ginpamatbatan si Mejorada sang duha tubtub apat ka tuig nga pagkapreso.
Nagpagwa man ang korte sang warrant of arrest batok kay Mejorada.
Matandaan nga may outstanding warrant of arrest man nga gin-isyu batok kay Mejorada sang 2020 matapos ginpamatud-an sang Korte Suprema nga guilty si Mejorada sa four counts of libel kag ginsentensyahan sang duha tubtub apat ka tuig nga pagkapreso.
Si Mejorada ang nagapanago matapos ang pagpagwa sang iya warrant of arrest sang nagligad nga tuig.
“Mejorada did not pause to recalculate his options after his complaint was dismissed, but relentlessly went on public reiterating the same accusations of corruption and defaming the private complainant. Such is a ‘clear indication of his intent to malign,” pahayag sang korte.
“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,” kabahin sang desisyon.
“It is beyond cavil the identity of the person defamed in the Facebook posts are manifestly mentioned,” dugang pa.
Nahibaluan nga ang subject sang libelous Facebook posts amo ang mga proyekto nga ginduso sang Ilonggo senator sa Iloilo City, lakip na ang Iloilo Convention Center kag circumferential road sa diin gin-akusaran ni Mejorada si Drilon sang corruption.
Sang 2015, gindimiss sang Ombudsman ang “baseless ad malicious” nga akusayon ni Mejorada batok kay Drilon kaangot sa pagpatukod sang Iloilo Convention Center.
“I welcome the Pasay Regional Trial Court’s decision that found Mejorada guilty beyond reasonable doubt of libel. This new decision and the earlier ruling by the Pasay RTC only validate the fact that Mejorada’s allegations against me are complete lies and fabrications,” pahayag ni Drilon.
“It saddens me, and it is an insult to the court, that the man has no respect for the rule of law. Despite his conviction, Mejorada did not stop from fabricating vitriolic and false accusations against me and he is now hiding from the authorities to avoid serving his jail term,” dugang pa ni Drilon
“Mejorada should face the consequences of his actions and must serve his sentence,” pahayag sang Ilonggo senator.
Magluwas sa conviction, nagapangatubang man si Mejorada sang four cases sang online libel sa amo nga korte sa diin may yara ini sang pending nga warrant of arrest.
Sang 2020, si Mejorada ang ginapamatbatan nga guilty sa kaso nga graft sang Sandiganbayan bangud sa “overpriced laptop purchase” sang nagapungko pa ini bilang Iloilo provincial administrator.
Ginpamatbatan sang anti-graft si Mejorada sang ‘maximum of eight years’ nga pagkapreso kag perpetual disqualification sa pagpungko sa public office.
