VP Duterte’s husband Mans Carpio is complainant in Lustre cyber libel case — lawyer
MANILA (UPDATED) — Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband Manases Carpio is the complainant in the cyber libel case that veteran journalist Philip Lustre Jr. was arrested for, the journalist’s lawyer Dino De Leon said Monday.
In a statement, De Leon said his law firm had obtained a copy of the information filed at the Davao City Regional Trial Court and that it identifies Carpio as complaintnat.
He said the complaint is on a Facebook post that Lustre allegedly made on March 6 linking Carpio to the 18 alleged former bagmen of ex-congressman Zaldy Co who have claimed to have delivered kickbacks to various political officials.
The alleged post claims Carpio financed the “operation” on the 18, who were previously referred to as the “18 Marines”.
De Leon earlier Monday said he would ask the Department of Justice to investigate his client’s arrest for potential irregularities, including the deprivation of due process.
Lustre, 72, was arrested on Saturday, October 24, after attending a media forum in Quezon City, over a warrant issued by a Davao City court on October 2.
He was released on P48,000 bail later that day.
De Leon, speaking on ANC’s “Headstart”, said the arrest “came like a thief in the night” since Lustre allegedly did not know about the complaint at all.
“He does not know what the circumstances are insofar as this arrest warrant is concerned. And it happened, by the way, in front of not just an ordinary forum, it was a media forum,” he added.
De Leon said the address indicated in the arrest warrant was not Lustre’s residence, raising questions on whether the journalist had been properly notified of the charge against him.
“[I]t was easy for the authorities to find Philip Lustre in a media forum. Why is it that they were not able to use a proper address during the preliminary investigation stage?” he said.
The lawyer said he had sent members of his legal team to Davao City to obtain the case records and establish the circumstances surrounding the complaint.
He added that his legal team would ask the DOJ to examine whether the preliminary investigation in Lustre’s case complied with established procedures.
De Leon argued that Lustre may have been deprived of due process if he was not properly notified of the complaint and given an opportunity to respond during the preliminary investigation.
“Part and parcel ng kahit anong kaso, bago kayo makaaresto, kailangan meron kayo chance na magpaliwanag,” which he said should have been done at the Office of the Prosecutor.
(It is part and parcel of any case, that you should have a chance to explain before you are arrested.)
“In other words, he was deprived of his constitutional right to due process because [the] preliminary investigation is part of due process,” he added.
He said the arresting team could not give details of the case and proposed that the Supreme Court consider making the information sheet containing the formal charges available in the e-warrant system.
That, he said, would help ensure that people being arrested understand the cases against them and the basis for their detention.
“I think this is an attack on the freedom of media and free press. And this is reminiscent of what the Duterte administration has done in the past,” he said.
De Leon said Lustre suspects that individuals associated with the Duterte family could be interested in the case, but stressed that his team would continue its investigation.
The lawyer also said he would seek a change of venue for the proceedings because of security concerns.
Lustre is the author of “Kill, Kill, Kill,” a book examining alleged extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s war on drugs. The former president is facing crimes against humanity charges before the International Criminal Court over alleged killings linked to the campaign.