A sports journalist was arrested by law enforcement authorities on Saturday in Quezon City in connection with a cyber libel case filed by Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Willie Marcial, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said.
CIDG personnel from the Detection and Special Operations Unit arrested the journalist, identified as Snow Badua, following the issuance of a warrant of arrest for alleged violations related to online libel.
According to CIDG Acting Chief of the Detection and Special Operations Unit Gene Licud, the suspect is known for covering and commenting on PBA games and related league activities. Licud said the complaint stemmed from alleged defamatory statements posted online against Marcial.
Authorities said the case originated in 2016 when a formal complaint was filed. The matter later went through court proceedings until a warrant of arrest was issued. Investigators did not disclose the specific content of the allegedly libelous statements, saying these were already part of court records.
The CIDG also said the suspect claimed during the arrest that the issue had already been settled between him and Marcial. However, the case reportedly continued in court, leading to the enforcement of the arrest warrant.
The journalist posted bail on Monday, amounting to P30,000, authorities said. He was also scheduled to undergo a routine medical examination as part of standard processing procedures.
Following his release on bail, Badua posted on social media, saying he would address the matter in a live broadcast. “I’ll be going LIVE tomorrow [9 PM, Tuesday] to address everything. If you want to keep making me the headline, who am I to stop you? Let’s prolong my ‘relevance,’” he wrote.
He also added in the same post, “Make no mistake: those who orchestrated this circus and turned a procedural matter into a frenzy will not escape my wrath.”
Authorities did not immediately provide further details on the status of the case beyond the issuance of the warrant and the posting of bail.
