Talent manager and talk show host Ogie Diaz went to the Quezon City Prosecutors Office on Tuesday, along with his co-host 'Mama Loi', to file their counter-affidavits on the cyber libel case filed against them by actress Bea Alonzo.
Atty. Regie Tongol, Diaz's lawyer said Diaz's co-host also filed a counter-charge for perjury with damages against Alonzo since the Complaint-Affidavit made it appear she made defamatory utterances even though she has not said anything at all.
"We filed their separate counter affidavits before Investigating Prosecutor Edward Seijo. In our seventy-page (70) Counter-Affidavit, we called out the Complainant by not clearly stating in her sixteen-page (16) Complaint-Affidavit the specific individuals who uttered the specific defamatory statements making it appear it was all Mr. Diaz who made them," Tongol explained.
Alonzo's complaint affidavit stated she was a victim of false, malicious, and damaging information from someone who pretended to be close to her, which was published and discussed by Diaz's online shows without any basis.
This included the alleged successive insults to the actress in their columns and shows, as well as the issue of her allegedly not paying the correct tax.
Alonzo's two counts of cyber libel included the 19 November 2022 episode in the "Ogie Diaz Showbiz Update" YouTube channel.
"Meaning, it was filed way beyond the one-year prescriptive period for cyber libel. As to this count, we are very confident that the charge against our clients would be dismissed," Tongol said.
"They even failed to show clear and convincing proof of "actual malice" whether in the form of "reckless disregard for the truth" or ill-motive which is a legal requirement and standard if the complainant is a public figure.
The opinions expressed by Mr. Diaz's co-hosts on the 19 November 2022 episode were merely based on a common truthful observation of netizens of the performance of her show, "Startup PH", as pointed out in their several comments online, Tongol further explained.
"As to the second count which refers to episode February 12, 2024, the utterances there by Mr. Diaz's co-hosts are not defamatory because being offered a role that was turned down by Marian Rivera-Dantes or any other actresses is not unusual given that Mrs. Rivera-Dantes is the undisputed queen of GMA. We proved that it is a common practice in both the local and foreign showbiz industry.
By being an actress, the complainant in effect gave the public a legitimate interest in her life and in her work. Therefore, the subject posts and utterances by Mr. Diaz’s co-hosts are within the realm of fair comment on her work as one of the actresses in the Philippines contrary to their claim in the media that it was about her personal life," the lawyer explained.
"Under our laws fair commentaries on matters of public interest are privileged and constitute a valid defense in an action for libel or slander” because democracy would be meaningless without free discussion of public affairs, even at the cost of a few bruised egos.
"Other bloggers, writers, journalists and our clients should not be cowered by the filing of cases just to suppress the freedom of expression and of the press by public figures who are too onion-skinned.
"Our clients will fight this case with courage because they have no malicious intent and the thirty million pesos (P30,000,000) damages being asked by Ms. Bea Alonzo in her complaint is not only unjustified and unreasonable but is also exorbitant. We are also ready to file other counter charges against Ms. Alonzo for malicious prosecution and damages for this suppression of our client’s freedom of the press and expression in due time," Diaz camp said.
