The Supreme Court has sustained the libel conviction of a former consultant to Senator Franklin Drilon for “defamatory” online posts accusing the lawmaker of corruption.
In a June 10 resolution, copy of which was released only Wednesday, the SC’s Second Division upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that sentenced Manuel “Boy” Mejorada to a prison term of two to four years for each of four cases, to be served simultaneously.
The appellate court had ruled that Mejorada failed to show good intention and motive to overcome the inference of malice in four “defamatory” articles he wrote in 2013 and 2014, which allegedly linked Drilon to corruption over the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center and other projects in Iloilo City.
This prompted Mejorada to appeal his case before the SC.
In its ruling, the SC denied Mejorada’s petition after finding that he failed to show that the appeals court erred in affirming his conviction for four counts of libel.
The high court agreed with the CA’s findings that the prosecution sufficiently established the elements of libel, and that malice was “presumed” because the articles in question were not privileged communication or fair comments.
