Former Davao City Information officer Jefry Tupas has filed a P10 million cyber libel case against Vice Presidential bet Walden Bello on Monday.
Tupas, who was accompanied by his legal counsel Atty. Caesar Europa, submitted his affidavit before City Prosecutor’s Office in Davao City.
It can be recalled that Bello brought up the issue of Tupas after Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio did not attend the recent Vice Presidential debate hosted by CNN Philippines.
Tupas said everything that Bello said about him were false, unfair, malicious, and downright unacceptable that cause him emotional distress as he irreparably damaged his name, his reputation and his future.
“Today, I filed a cyber libel case against Mr. Walden Bello for the baseless, below-the-belt, hurtful, disparaging, damaging things he has said about me and against me during his recent online press conference,” Tupas said.
He added that the online press conference of Bello has been viewed by over 6,000 people and shared around a hundred times.
“The last time I checked, the social media card that he posted, screaming with graphics calling me a drug dealer, has been shared more than 270 times, and many of the 213 comments directed against me were unpleasant,” he said.
Tupas also said Bello’s attack against him online resulted in a deluge of people attacking him online.
“As of now, the posts remain available and viewed and shared around by people – and we could only surmise that many of them are convinced that I am what Mr. Walden Bello has said I am. To them, Mr. Walden Bello’s version of the truth about me is the truth about me,” he said.
Tupas described Bello as no ordinary citizen, a book writer, an activist, and a human rights activist.
“He is a professor and a scholar whose international academic circle and civil-society network and experience are vast. He is aspiring to become the next Vice President of the Philippines,” he said.
He also cited Bello’s Facebook page that has 23,000 followers while his personal Facebook account has over 14,500 followers.
He also said Bello has 4,997 Facebook friends.
“Given that – the magnitude of the consequence, the injury left by the offensives unleashed by Mr. Walden Bello on me, towards me, is unimaginable. People like Mr. Walden Bello must be taught a lesson – that they cannot, as they should not be allowed to, run away with their actions and words that destroy the lives of private citizens like me,” Tupas said.
