The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio, has made it clear that, as the complainant in the cyberlibel case against veteran journalist Philip Lustre Jr., Carpio is the aggrieved party, not the other way around.
Amid talks of attempts to silence the press, Atty. Neil Abayon, a member of Carpio’s legal team, emphasized that it is respondent Lustre who may have committed a criminal act, not Carpio.
The criminal case was filed on the grounds of a possibly “libelous statement” against Carpio.
“Maganda lang pong maintindihan ng general public, pag nag-file po ng cyberlibel case ang isang aggrieved party, ‘yung complainant po diyan ‘yung agrabyado actually. Kasi ‘yung may posibleng ginawang criminal act po is the respondent. Hindi po ‘yung complainant dito ‘yung may ginawang criminal act,” the lawyer explained in an interview at Rapido Hataw Balita.
Abayon said the case stemmed from a Facebook post wherein Lustre alleged that Carpio had spent millions on “certain operations” without providing evidence to back the claim.
Abayon stressed that freedom of speech is “not absolute,” explaining that when this infringes on another’s rights, the other party may choose to take legal action against the supposed offender.
“Hindi po iyon silencing of the press, or parang patahimikin lang. Kundi again, sila ‘yung may ginawang criminal act, Atty. Mans is simply enforcing his right provided to him by our legal system,” he said.
The lawyer also rejected the notion that Lustre was wrongfully arrested, as law enforcement is obligated to seize an individual once an arrest warrant has been issued by a court.
According to Reporters Without Borders, Lustre, a 72-year-old journalist with over 50 years of industry experience under his belt, was taken to a police station without being informed of the grounds for his arrest on October 24.
Moreover, the address listed on Lustre’s warrant was not his actual home address, and it took Lustre’s lawyer two days to learn that Carpio was the complainant.
Lustre’s camp announced that it will be filing a motion to request that the case be transferred to a court in Metro Manila, as the journalist feels he is “unsafe” in a Davao City court, Abayon confirmed.
