The case emanated from Bello’s live interview posted on his official Facebook page accusing Tupas as a drug dealer and was nabbed with his friends snorting P1.5 million worth of illegal drugs in a drug raid on November 6, 2021 in Davao de Oro.
Tupas in his affidavit complaint on Monday (March 7) said that Bello violated Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
“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 in his statement said.
He said everything that Bello has said against him were false, unfair, malicious, and downright unacceptable, causing him emotional distress.
The online press conference has been viewed by over 6,000 people and shared around a hundred times.
Tupas also denied that he was arrested during the said raid nor has been charged, much less convicted of any drug related cases.
“I certainly never snorted 1.5 Million pesos worth of drugs. I am not and I have never been a drug dealer,” Tupas said.
According to Tupas, 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.
The Walden Bello Facebook page has 23,000 followers and his personal Facebook account has over 14,500 followers with 4,997 Facebook friends.
“Given than-the magnitude of the consequence , the injury left by the offensives unleashed by Mr. Walden Bello on me, towards me, is unimaginable,” he said.
As a private citizen, Tupas said , Bello has absolutely no right to malign his good name and reputation so maliciously.
“To see that he did so apparently just to bolster his political ambitions at my expense, makes it so much worse,” Tupas further said.
Lawyer Caesar Europa, the legal counsel of Tupas, said they will possibly complain to Facebook since the posts remain available and viewed and shared around by people.
“Hopefully, people will see the light and take it down. But if not, we will possibly complain to Facebook,” Europa said.
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