Annabelle Rama posts bail in libelous tweet rap

Talent manager Annabelle Rama-Gutierrez has posted a P140,000 bail after being charged with 14 counts of libel for allegedly maligning former actress Nadia Montenegro in her Twitter account.

Accompanied to the Quezon City Regional Trial Court by a lawyer on Thursday afternoon, Gutierrez posted bail a few hours after the case was raffled off to Branch 92 Judge Eleuterio Bathan, who set the arraignment on May 21.

The charge was based on the recommendation of Assistant City Prosecutor Diovie Macaraig-Calderon who found probable cause to indict Gutierrez for libel.

In her complaint, Montenegro alleged that Gutierrez maligned her reputation by accusing her of child abuse in at least 11 Twitter posts and in two show biz talk shows and a news program last year.

Earlier in 2011, it was Montenegro who lodged child abuse complaints against Gutierrez, who was then managing the careers of Montenegro’s two young daughters. The complaint was later dismissed for lack of probable cause.

Aside from the libel cases, Gutierrez is also facing charges for two counts of unjust vexation and grave oral defamation before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court. Julie M. Aurelio