DOJ approves filing of cyber libel raps vs ex-Top Gear editor

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved the filing of cyber libel charges against former Top Gear Philippines editor-in-chief Vernon Sarne for identifying the wrong person as the gunman in a shooting incident in Manila in 2016.

In an eight-page resolution, the DOJ recommended that charges for violation of Section 4(c)(4) of RA 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, be approved and filed in court against Sarne.

The DOJ, however, cleared the publication’s other staff members for lack of probable cause as their participation or involvement in the act was not proven.

The case stemmed from a cyber libel complaint filed by Nestor Punzalan after he was erroneously tagged by Sarne as the gunman who shot and killed a cyclist and injured a female bystander during a road altercation in Quiapo, Manila.

Sarne posted the link of Punzalan’s Facebook profile and tagged him as the owner of a red Hyundai Eon involved in the incident. Police, however, identified ex-Army reservist Vhon Tanto, not Punzalan, as the gunman.

After the fiasco on social media, Punzalan filed his complaint at the National Bureau of Investigation against Sarne, who was then editor-in-chief of the publication, and four other editors.

“After evaluation of the records and evidence adduced, the undersigned investigating prosecutor (Assistant State Prosecutor Alejandro Daguiso) finds probable cause to indict respondent Vernon B. Sarne only as responsible for the offense charged,” the DOJ resolution stated.

INQUIRER.net tried to get the side of Sarne, but the latter declined to comment. “I have been advised by our legal counsel to refrain from commenting on this any further,” Sarne said in a text message.