Philippines
National
'For lack of jurisdiction,' RTC junks cyber
libel cases vs Annabella Rama Gutierrez
'For lack of jurisdiction,' RTC junks cyber libel cases vs Annabella Rama Gutierrez
The Las Pinas City regional trial court (RTC) on Friday, Dec. 2, ordered the dismissal, for lack of jurisdiction, of the cyber liber cases filed against talent manager Annabelle Rama Gutierrez by Joher Jayke Joson, former special assistant and business partner of then Senator Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao.
Joson claimed that Gutierrez libeled him in the latter’s social media post by accusing him of stealing from Pacquiao.
In dismissing the cases, RTC Judge Antonio Ray A. Ortiguera granted the motion filed by the Las Pinas City Prosecutor’s Office which cited the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) resolution issued on Nov. 21 by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla.
Remulla granted the petition for review filed by Gutierrez who assailed the March 30 resolution of the Las Pinas City Prosecutor’s Office that found probable cause in filing cyber libel cases against her in court.
In the Nov. 21, resolution, Remulla ruled that “with the elements of cyber libel not having been fully met and the venue having been improperly laid, We cannot sustain a finding of probable cause.”
“The Resolution dated 30 March 2022 of the Office of the City Prosecutor of the Las Pinas City is reversed and set aside,” Remulla said.
At the same time, Remulla’s resolution stated: “The Office of the City Prosecutor of the Las Pinas City is hereby ordered to withdraw the corresponding informations (criminal charge sheets) filed with the Regional Trial Court Branch 253 of Las Pinas City.”
The DOJ resolution also pointed out that “respondent-appellant (Gutierrez) never admitted that she (Gutierrez) was the author of the alleged defamatory statements, claiming in fact that she does not even have the skill of sending text messages.”
“In fact, complainant-appellee (Joson) even failed to establish with sufficient evidence that respondent-appellant was the author of the libelous materials and that the alleged Instagram account is registered under her name,” the resolution also stated.
“Thus, the elements of attribution and ownership are plainly wanting,” it added.
Even if Guttierez is the owner of the Instagram account, Remulla said “it is apparent that there was no single mention on the records of the full name of the complainant-appellee.”
“We cannot simply assume or infer the identity of a person maligned is complainant-appellee whom he has not been properly and fully identified in the said posts,” he said.
Remulla’s resolution also said that Joson “failed to assert which particular statements in the online posts were defamatory in nature.”
“Moreover, complainant-appellee failed to show that there was actual malice on the part of respondent-appellant, malice being an essential and indispensable element of the libel,” he added.
In resolving the motion to dismiss, Judge Ortiguera said: “Considering the venue is jurisdictional in a criminal case and the records do not show that the private complainant is a resident of Las Pinas City, or that Las Pinas City is where the post was printed or first published, this Court has no jurisdiction over these cases.”
“Wherefore, premises on the foregoing, the Motion to Withdraw Information is granted. The above cited Informations are now withdrawn from the docket of this Court,” the judge ruled.
TAGS: #Remulla #Annabelle Rama Gutierrez #Cyber Libel