First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos revealed that pro-Rodrigo Duterte vlogger Sass Sasot. INQUIRER FILES/FROM SASOT’S FACEBOOK PAGE
MANILA, Philippines — First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos revealed that pro-Rodrigo Duterte vloggers Sass Sasot and RJ Nieto were sued for cyber libel and that her law firm assisted them for free.
In an exclusive interview with Tune-in Kay Tunying aired on Friday, Araneta-Marcos was asked about former associates now speaking badly about her family.
“You want me to mention names? For example, Sass. Sass and RJ, I met them because they were sued for cyber libel. So they came to me, pro bono,” she said.
Araneta-Marcos said she wrote an affidavit for Sasot, using feminine pronouns for the transwoman vlogger, as she did not know that Sasot was assigned male at birth.
“I didn’t know Sass was a guy,” she said.
READ: Liza Marcos admits snubbing Sara Duterte: ‘Bad shot na ‘yan sa akin’
According to the first lady, she worked pro bono for the vloggers for three years until “something happened.”
Sasot’s vlog is known as “For the Motherland-Sass Rogando Sasot,” while Nieto is known as “Thinking Pinoy” in his vlogs.
“We went to court. She made a deal with the other side and took RJ away. Sabi ko, ‘Teka muna, medyo makapal ‘yan. Pro bono, three years, tapos you’ll fire our law firm’,” Araneta-Marcos narrated.
(We went to court, and she made a deal with the other side and took RJ away. “Wait, that is a bit shameless. Pro bono, three years, then you fire our law firm.”)
“If you’re happy that way, there’s such a thing as karma,” she also said.
But Sasot shot back.
The vlogger posted a response on Friday, calling Marcos the “Lying Lady.”
Sasot denied being sued for cyber libel, clarifying that she faced a civil case filed by opposition blogger Jover Laurio in violation of the Data Privacy Act.
READ: Pinoy Ako blogger Jover Laurio sues Nieto, Sasot
“At first, it was just RJ Nieto whom your law office handled because he had an ongoing cyberlibel case filed by then Senator Antonio Trillanes. Yes it was pro-bono. But I believe it was mutual help. We were helping your family bring to the public details of your side of the electoral protest you filed against Vice President Leni Robredo, which mainstream media wasn’t keen on covering,” said Sasot in a lengthy Facebook post.
Sasot said that vloggers like her defended the Marcos family for six years.
“As for karma, Mrs Araneta-Marcos, you are using this concept wrong. You are rich enough to pursue a more sophisticated education on worldviews, such as Hinduism, which is the source of the principle of karma,” the vlogger said.