Drug suspect loses bid to sue radio men for libel

ILOILO CITY—The city prosecutor’s office has junked a P15.3-million libel complaint filed by alleged drug lord Melvin Odicta against broadcasters and the head of a radio network that has been critical of illegal drug operations.

In a seven-page resolution dated Feb. 9 and received by the respondents on Feb. 29, the prosecutor’s office said there was lack of probable cause to indict John Paul Tia, manager of radio station dyOK Aksyon Radyo Iloilo; anchorman Salvador Capulot and Ruperto Nicdao Jr., president of Manila Broadcasting Corp., which owns dyOK.

The prosecutor’s office deemed as inadmissible a tape recording and transcript of the supposed radio program hosted by Capulot that was the subject of the complaint.

“It would be a grave injustice and grave abuse of discretion to find probable cause and file information based on falsified and fabricated evidence,” said the prosecutor’s resolution, written by Assistant City Prosecutor Rysty Ann Espinosa-Borja. It was approved by Chief City Prosecutor Peter Baliao.

In his complaint, Odicta claimed that he heard Capulot, in his radio program on Nov. 24, 2015, accuse the suspected drug lord and his wife, Miriam, of being drug dealers and using legal businesses as fronts.

The radio station officials questioned the authenticity of the recording that Odicta tried to use as evidence.