Robredo mulls suit vs website

ANAO, TARLAC—Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday said she was considering taking legal action against a website that alleged her late husband, Jesse, was involved in illegal gambling and drug trade in their hometown Naga City.

“When this website was set up, they hit my late husband. To me, they have crossed the line. My husband is no longer here to defend himself, that’s why I am thinking seriously of what legal action to take,” Robredo said in Filipino.

Most likely, the case the Vice President would file against the website and the people behind it would fall under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Last week, an anonymous blog called #NagaLeaks was created, linking the late Jesse Robredo to drugs and jueteng or the illegal numbers game when he was still Naga City mayor.

It also said that Jesse had lobbied for his Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, which he received in 2000.

The allegation was denounced by the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation Award, saying that “Jesse Robredo is a fully deserving and a highly respected Ramon Magsaysay laureate.”

The Vice President said it was obvious that the website was set up to disparage her.

Robredo said that while she has been on the receiving end of the “viciousness” of the online attacks, she never paid them attention as a way to avoid legitimizing these anonymous claims.

Robredo urged anyone who believed that they were bullied or offended online to take legal action, regardless of their party affiliations or political beliefs.

“If [we] don’t file cases, this [cyberbullying and online lies] will only persist… This should be placed at the right forum rather than fighting online,” Robredo said.

Robredo was here for the inauguration of the Ylang-Ylang Livelihood Center.

Former President Benigno Aquino III joined Robredo at the event but he did not give a speech and declined to be interviewed.

This was one of the rare public events that Aquino has attended since stepping down from office in June last year.