In March 2025, I filed a complaint with the Ombudsman against all eleven members of my small, 4th-class municipality's Sangguniang Bayan (SB). The basis of the complaint was the improper and irregular passage of an ordinance that reclassified CARP-granted agricultural land into commercial use for the construction of a large garbage landfill. This action, I argued, violated multiple laws, including the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019), the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 (RA 8435), the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160), and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713). The ordinance was passed without proper consideration for the public and the severe impact it would have on the town’s agriculture, public health, and environment.
Since filing the complaint, I have been targeted by three separate Cyber-libel complaints, which I believe are coordinated and weaponized acts of retaliation and harassment:
First Complaint: Filed by an incumbent SB member who is also the ex officio Sanggunian Kabataan representative. A prosecutor found probable cause for indictment. The warrant of arrest was served on a Friday afternoon—the same day I received the indictment copy—resulting in me spending four days in jail for being unable to post bail on time.
Second Complaint: Filed by a former SB member who was not re-elected. This complaint was dismissed by a different prosecutor due to a lack of prima facie evidence that would lead to certain conviction.
Third Complaint (Most Recent): Filed by another former, ousted SB member. This complaint is currently pending review by a new prosecutor.
A key irregularity is that all three complaints are "copy cat" in nature, utilizing identical, cut-and-pasted "libelous statements." These statements were posted on Facebook during the election period, were based on the findings of the PNP Cybercrime Unit in R4A, and were critical of the then-incumbents’ performance. Posted within my hometown’s FB Groupchat, I maintain my posts were non-malicious, non-defamatory, and constituted privileged speech during the campaign period; the first of the posts was merely an announcement that a complaint for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) had been filed with the Ombudsman.
I suspect that the complainants—both incumbent and former SB members—are clearly coordinating their efforts, weaponizing the Cyber-libel law in direct retaliation to harass me for filing my original anti-graft complaint with the Ombudsman. I also anticipate that other SB members may file similar complaints in the near future.
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