DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 11 August) – The legal team of defeated vice presidential candidate Professor Walden Bello remained optimistic that justice will prevail once the trial court comes out with a decision on the two counts of cyber libel against him based on the complaints of former city information officer Jefry Tupas.
Lawyer Estrella C. Elamparo, a member of Bello’s legal team, said in an interview on Thursday that they believe the trial court judge in Davao City handling the cyber libel case against Bello is “fair and impartial.”
“We have apprehension, of course, because there may be influences at work here but we have faith in the justice system, we have a fair judge. The judge will be impartial,” she said.
The preliminary conference was conducted on Thursday or more than six months after he was arraigned last January 26 before the sala of Judge Retrina E. Fuentes of the Regional Trial Court Branch 10.
Elamparo believed that the weight of evidence of the prosecution is insufficient to merit conviction beyond reasonable doubt, and that the case should never have been filed in court.
“As lawyers, we remain hopeful that justice will prevail. We have faith in our judicial system, of course, we are not unmindful that there might be influences that may affect the outcome of the case but, ultimately, we believe – given the paucity of evidence on the part of the prosecution – we believe that ultimately Ka Walden will be vindicated,” she said.
Bello is set to return to Davao for the pre-trial conference scheduled for August 24.
“It is our hope that after the pre-trial conference, after the prosecution presents, we will have the opportunity to move for the dismissal of the case because we believe this case should not proceed any further given the baselessness of the evidence,” Elamparo added.
She said the legal team maintained that contrary to the finding of probable cause by the City Prosecutor’s Office, the alleged defamatory statement of Bello that led to his indictment was not “malicious.”
She said being a staunch critic of the Duterte family “does not translate to malice against Tupas.”
She said Bello was “consistent with his advocacy of being vigilant against what he perceives to be the excesses of public officials.”
In June 2022, the Office of the City Prosecutor here found “defamatory” Bello’s statement, delivered during a live interview and later posted on his verified Facebook account on March 1, alleging that Tupas and her friends were “snorting P1.5 million worth of drugs” and describing him as a “drug dealer.”
Bello’s post that led to his indictment reads in part: “Mayor (Sara) Duterte’s Press Information Officer, Jefry Tupas, was nabbed at a beach party where she and her friends were snorting 1.5 million pesos worth of drugs on November 6, 2021. Now, the Mayor’s excuse that she did not know that she was sheltering a drug dealer does not wash, it is not credible.”
But Elamparo said the statement of Bello could be considered as a “qualifiedly privileged communication.”
“We can consider it as a qualifiedly privileged communication. It’s privileged because his statements are made in connection with the supposed acts of a public officer, which was very relevant during the time the statement was made because this was the time of the election campaign,” she said.
She said Bello uttered the alleged defamatory statement in the context of then vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte’s refusal to attend debates.
“As we know, during elections, the credibility, the integrity, the sense of judgment of candidates become very relevant because we make our decision whether to vote for someone on the basis of his qualifications. If, for instance, a candidate is coddling or tolerating the criminal act of one of his assistants or officials, that will be relevant in the course of discussion during the elections,” she said.
She said Bello’s statements were a matter of public interest.
She said the alleged defamatory statements were based on the credible news outlets that reported on the controversial drug raid where Tupas allegedly figured in.
“It is very relevant, it’s a matter of public interest, it’s the public’s right to know. Why? Because it’s the public that’s paying the salary of the public official, and if that public official happens to be doing criminal acts, the public would have an interest in knowing that because we shouldn’t be paying out of our tax payments to an official who is a criminal,” she said.
Elamparo said the legal team remains optimistic that their client would be acquitted.
She, however, said that the manifestation with urgent prayer to resolve the petition for review with the Department of Justice filed on July 3 was deemed “moot and academic.”
Bello’s legal team had earlier criticized Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla for his inaction on their petition seeking the review and dismissal of the cyber libel complaint filed by Tupas. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
