My Arrest and Detention for Cyberlibel
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Walden Bello arrested by Philippine National Police for cyber libel (Source: Business World Online)
My arrest and detention has been widely seen as the first major assault on democratic rights under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr, which assumed power barely six weeks ago. This is likely the reason for the massive outrage and outpouring of support both nationally and internationally that was triggered by the incident.
The charge of cyberlibel was lodged in March 2022 by Jefry Tupas, former press information officer of then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, after my communications team made a post on Facebook, referring to Tupas’ presence at a party in Mabini, Davao de Oro, on November 2021, where illegal drugs were in use. The party was raided by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).[1] Despite many news items that explicitly asserted that she was present at the party, Tupas claimed she was defamed by me, prompting her to sue me to the tune of P10 million, aside from pressing criminal charges.[2] She did not press charges or sue any of the many journalists and news agencies that wrote about her attending the party.
The case is clearly a case of political persecution. Tupas was incidental to a question raised by the Facebook post regarding Sara Duterte’s management capabilities as a city mayor. Both Sara Duterte and I were running for vice president of the Philippines at the time. It was in this context that I posed the question if Duterte as mayor of Davao City knew of her subordinate’s presence at the party. That Duterte felt there was something wrong with her press information officer’s presence at a party where illegal drugs were being used was indicated by her firing of Tupas after news spread about the incident.[3]
The Facebook post by my communications team was raised in the context of my challenging Duterte to appear in the national debates that were then being held to determine candidates’ qualifications for high office. Instead of Duterte participating in a number of televised debates as all the other candidates for vice president did, her camp not only filed the cyberlibel charge against me; it also had the City Council of Davao declare me “persona non grata” and labeled me a “narco-politician,”[4] a charge that had negative implications for my physical security in a country where thousands have been extra-judicially executed for allegedly being drug users and peddlers. It was clear the moving force behind these efforts to intimidate me was then vice presidential candidate and now Vice President Sara Duterte.
Walden Bello having his mugshot taken (Source; Inquirer.net)
The charge of cyberlibel lodged against me is a brazen case of weaponizing the law against critics. This is a dangerous trend in the Philippines, where 3,770 cases of cyberlibel have been filed since 2012, many of them by personalities seeking to silence their opponents.[5] The most infamous of these has been the case lodged against Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, chief executive officer of the pioneering online news and information agency Rappler.[6] Owing to this, calls to decriminalize libel and cyberlibel by concerned citizens have increased.
My lawyers have filed a petition to the Secretary of Justice to review and dump the Davao City Prosecutor’s judgment that there is “probable cause” to charge me with cyberlibel. Until the Secretary rules on the matter, court proceedings, including my arraignment and preliminary hearings, are in abeyance.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. knows this initiative of his vice president is political to the core. Will he allow a case that so clearly threatens freedom of speech spoil his efforts to project a positive image to a citizenry that is deeply divided by the return to power of his controversial family?
[1] There have been many reports about this party that was raided. Among the most recent is Tonyo Cruz, “Walden Bello’s Arrest Won’t Erase Drug Links of Duterte Aide Tupas,” Rappler, Aug 9, 2022, https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/opinion-walden-bello-arrest-will-not-erase-drug-links-of-duterte-aide-tupas/
[2] Owing to much confusion in news reports, contrary to the impression that might be given about her gender by her name, Tupas is a she, transgender person.
[3] Catherine Valente, “Sara Duterte Fires Information Officer over Davao Drug Raid,” Manila Times, Nov 9, 2021, https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/11/09/news/sara-duterte-fires-informationofficer-over-davao-drug-raid/1821535
[4] Grace Cantal-Albasin, “Davao City Declares Walden Bello Persona Non Grata,” Rappler, March 22, 2022, https://www.rappler.com/nation/davao-city-declares-walden-bello-persona-non-grata/; Sundy Mae Locus, “Walden Bello is a Narco-Politician—HNP,” GMA News Online, March 22 2022, https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/825828/walden-bello-is-a-narco-politician-hnp/story/
[5] Lian Buan, “Decriminalize Libel: PH Junked One-Third of Cyber Libel Cases Filed Since 2012,” Rappler, July 20, 2022, https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/decriminalize-philippines-junked-cyber-libel-cases-since-2012/
[6] See, among others, Joshua Hammer, “Maria Ressa’s Dangerous Battle for the Truth,” New York Times, Oct 9, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/magazine/rappler-philippines-maria-ressa.html
Walden Bello ran for vice president of the Philippines on May 9, 2022. He is currently International Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He won the Right Livelihood Award (aka Alternative Nobel Prize) in 2003 and was named Outstanding Public Scholar by the International Studies Association in 2008. An internationally known human rights activist and a prolific writer, he is the author or co-author of 25 books and numerous articles.
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