Blogger may face libel suit for her entry regarding relief goods
A blogger may face libel suit for her blog entry about the ‘rotting’ relief goods inside the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) warehouse, the story was published sometime in October of 2009 during the height of the relief mission for typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng and spread in the blogosphere very fast.
The blog entries popularity reached the office of (then) DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral who requested the NBI to investigate. According to the inquirer.net story:
A blogger who wrote about relief goods stored in a warehouse that allegedly did not reach victims of Tropical Storm “Ondoy” last year has been charged with libel for the malicious accusations on her website.
In a referral letter to the Quezon City prosecutors office, the National Bureau of Investigation filed the libel complaint against the blogger upon the request of then Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral, the new health secretary.
The NBI identified the female blogger, who claimed to be a book author using the aliases “Jade Ceres Dolor,” “Jade Ceres Violet Dolor,” and “Ella Rose delos Santos.”
If ever this case will reach the court, this will be a test case on how the government really appreciate the freedom of speech.
