CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 23 August 2026) — Published Messenger messages, chat logs, and direct messages (DMs) between public officials and journalists do not constitute Data Privacy Act violations if they involve public concerns or the functions of public office.
This was the ruling by the Office of the City Prosecutor here as it dismissed the cyber libel charges and alleged Data Privacy Act violations filed by a local official against a veteran broadcast reporter investigating complaints regarding delayed student scholarship benefits.
In a three-page resolution dated June 11, 2026, but released on August 20, the Office of the City Prosecutor said complainant Richel Petalcurin-Dahay, acting head of the Cagayan de Oro Education and Development Department, failed to establish a prima facie case of Data Privacy Act violations against broadcaster Menzie Montes, news program director of RMN dxCC and iFM. It stated that the communications between Dahay and Montes regarding delayed scholarship benefits “involved concerns raised to a government office.”
“Under the Data Privacy Act of 2012, among the exemptions are information that relates to the functions of government employees and officials,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The Office of the City Prosecutor also dismissed the cyber libel charges, ruling that the complainant failed to prove a prima facie case. “The reporter did not expressly accuse the complainant of corruption,” the resolution read.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Cagayan de Oro chapter hailed the decision as a victory for local journalists facing legal threats from public officials.
“The dismissal of these complaints shows that we can win legal battles against the lawfare waged by local officials against journalists investigating corruption cases,” said Franck Dick Rosete, NUJP Cagayan de Oro chair.
Rosete thanked attorneys Tony La Viña, Carlos Isagani Zarate, and Beverly Selim Musni for providing legal support to Montes.
La Viña noted that their firm, La Viña-Zarate and Associates, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Cagayan de Oro Press Club two years ago to provide legal defense for journalists. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
