MANILA, Philippines — The camp of presidential candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao has filed a motion for reconsideration for the decision of the Makati Prosecutor’s Office to junk its cyber libel complaint against Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church.
READ: Pacquiao’s cyberlibel complaint against Quiboloy junked
Pacquiao’s counsel, Atty. Nikki de Vega, said that while his camp respects the decision, they disagree, calling the decision an “injustice”, even noting that the case was dismissed without a counter-affidavit from Quiboloy.
“A distinction must be made between mere criticism and the proliferation of fake news. To remedy this injustice, we have already filed a Motion for Reconsideration,” De Vega said in a statement.
“Ang laban na ito ni Senator Manny ay para sa ating mga kababayan na biktima nang fake news at pinagkaitan nang hustisya. Naway magsilbi itong inspirasyon sa ating kababayan na patuloy na ipaglaban ang katotohanan at hindi magpa-supil sa mga makapangyarihan,” she added.
(This fight of Senator Manny is for the people who are also victims of fake news and were deprived of justice. May this serve as an inspiration to Filipinos to continue to fight for the truth and not succumb to the powerful.)
In September last year, Pacquiao filed a cyber libel complaint against Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God, ” demanding him pay P100 million in damages for spreading “fabricated” claims about the lawmaker.
The complaint stemmed from a television appearance and social media post made by Quiboloy where he claimed that the senator had misused funds for the unfinished Sarangani Sports Training Center. Quiboloy allegedly claimed that the project had cost the government some P3.5 billion.
The Makati Prosecutor’s Office in its decision said Pacquiao failed to establish actual malice in his complaint against Quiboloy.
“Complainant [Pacquiao] failed to prove that respondent [Quiboloy] made those statements with knowledge of their falsity or with reckless disregard of whether they were false or not,” the resolution read.
De Vega, however, said they are also considering withdrawing their motion so that the US government can facilitate its extradition request against Quiboloy in relation to his sex trafficking case in the US.
“According to Senator Manny, it is more important to bring justice to the victims of heinous crimes. Maraming nasirang buhay ang kailangan bigyan ng katarungan. Narito si Senator Manny upang itaguyod ang karapatan nang mga bata at babaing naaapi,” she said.
(Many ruined lives need justice. Senator Manny is here to champion the rights of the children and women.)
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Jan. 31 published a wanted poster seeking information leading to his arrest for “conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; bulk cash smuggling.”
The FBI released the wanted list nearly three months after Quiboloy and his senior aides were indicted by a US federal grand jury in California for allegedly forcing girls and young women to have sex with him to save them from “eternal damnation.”
READ: No extradition request yet from US gov’t for Quiboloy, says DOJ