Esperlita Garcia a.k.a. Cyber Perling, State Enemy of PNoy’sTRO’ed CyberCrime

In the Philippines it does not matter what the law says, what matters is how it is interpreted by onion skinned public officials even in far flung municipality of Gonzaga in Cagayan. Gonzaga Mayor Carlito Pentecostes Jr., felt he was libeled or his reputation tarnished when a retired teacher and grandmother who happens to be a staunch environmentalist in Gonzaga posted an update on her FB page. I am quoting the so-called “libelous” portion:

My fb friends are asking me what happened in the rally at the Saint Anthony’s Academy of Gonzaga (SAAG) yesterday morning, so here. I wish to inform everyone that the peaceful trooping of Gonzaganians at the starting point venue of the rally was harshly dispersed by the Mayor of Gonzaga who was with more or less 10 armed and uniformed military men and with a firetruck and several vehicles near the SAAG gate along the national highway. Gonzaganians wanting to join the peaceful rally were hindered by the Mayor’s group. What is so shocking to know was the bullying words of the mayor to one of the invited speakers of the KALIKASAN PNE when speaking to the mayor, “Mayor Sir, it’s the constitutional rights of your constituents to conduct a peaceful rally to air their protest against mining within the communities.” “NPA ka ‘no? Walang constitution sa akin. Ako and Mayor ditto. Lumayas kayo, “ the mayor angrily answered as he grabbed the video camera being in the hands of one of the protesters and angrily threw it with force to the ground.

Well, that is really terrible, no I did not mean what Garcia wrote but is it libelous? If there is anyone who needs to get a lesson it is none other but the mayor. First of all you don't bring military men in a peaceful protest because military people are trained to kill people unlike the police who are trained in crowd control. Second of all the mayor ought to get a lesson on tolerance and the military should have restrained the mayor if they are indeed the protector of the people.

If that is libel does that mean that if Gonzaga Mayor Carlito Pentecostes Jr., slaps me silly that I will be sued for libel if I posted my experience on Facebook? It seems the local DoJ led by Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Edward Javier sees the crime of e-libel even if the SC issued a TRO better than the highhanded treatment of the protesters by the mayor that they went ahead filing defamation of character and libel against a retired teacher and Grandmother Esperlita Garcia. Ever wonder why real heinous crimes and crimes committed by well-connected powerful persons remain unsolved because they seem so fixated at trying to secure a conviction against a grandma? So they say they are allowed to make mistakes but filing a complaint of libel citing RPC Article 258 on abortion is not exactly an oversight when they meant RPC article 353 and 355 which is not a typo but more of being confused, LOL. Seems funny when abortion came into the picture but in their haste to score a  3 minute of sound bytes  of fame their incompetence got exposed instead while dragging RTC Judge Tabaco in their folly on the strength of RPC Article 258 when they meant to file libel, that states: 

Abortion practiced by the woman herself of by her parents. — The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed upon a woman who shall practice abortion upon herself or shall consent that any other person should do so. 

Any woman who shall commit this offense to conceal her dishonor, shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.chanrobles virtual law library

If this crime be committed by the parents of the pregnant woman or either of them, and they act with the consent of said woman for the purpose of concealing her dishonor, the offenders shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods.

Well, blow me down and slap me silly but this is a legitimate WTF moment!  Now whoever penned this revised penal code I hope is not one Talibani honor killer, for one the language seems vent on penalizing the woman and her mother for concealing the “dishonor.” Now, why the fixation on dishonor when all the while it was supposed to be to preserve life? Okay, let’s give this a rest since this should be another idiotic topic we can discuss next time around, LOL.

Now, what’s up with the judge? Did Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Conrado Tabaco had one too many tobacco or something  that he did not even read the complaint and failed to catch the “error” of using RPC Article 258 on abortion for a defamation and libel complaint filed by the geniuses at the local DoJ led by Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Edward Javier? why issue a warrant of arrest  for violating abortion RPC, did he even check that grandma Perling is 62 years old and unlikely to get pregnant much less have an abortion? Eh magkano ba este what was the warrant of arrest for when obviously someone did not read the complaint or was that just what Perling feared that it was meant  as a pure harassment?  If the judge used his due diligence he would have rejected the complaint right there and then but to go further and issue a warrant of arrest is not exactly just a case of incompetence but null and void and therefore Esperlita Garcia’s arrest is illegal?

I can understand that they are in the boondocks but the municipality is online so how did they not know that there was a TRO on RA10175 and no matter how they lie este explain that they filed the complaint based on RPC Article 353 and 355 and not RA10175 the 2 cited articles 353 and 355 does not cover Facebook or the internet. Did they not even ask Vicky Belo or are they fixated with Hayden Camera este Argee Guevarra or they are too engrossed on giving retired teacher Esperlita Garcia a hard time? The DoJ in Manila refused to file a case in 2009 and what makes it different now if I may ask, because it involves mining compared to just small time bust butt jobs?

Another legit WTF moment is when NBI director for Cagayan Valley Hector Eduard Gealogo says they did not conspire with Mayor Pentecostes or manhandled Garcia during the arrest. Maybe true but they did not read her, her Miranda rights and just hauled her to jail. Arresting Garcia on the crime of abortion when the complaint was meant for defamation of character and libel is therefore illegal, meaning her arrest and her imprisonment is also illegal. Now what’s the swift action all about, does she even posed a danger to people and it took 3 agents to arrest her? Don’t the NBI had more pressing things to do like hunt down the suspect in the Ortega murder case, or how about arresting Ecleo the parricidal murderous killer who has already been convicted and yet remains at large? Ok, I guess they need to bring down pesky retired teachers so the mayor can teach her a lesson, what exactly was the lesson again if I may ask? Now if the statement of Esperlita Garcia is “libelous” what about this statement from Pentecostes, are they not libelous and I quote:

“Wala akong sama ng loob sa’yo, dahil kung may sama ako ng loob sa’yo, hindi na kita iisyuhan ng mayor’s permit sa negosyo mo kahit hindi siya nagbabayad ng tax. So walang harassment, kundi ginagawa ko lang ang karapatan ko dahil sinira nila ang puri ko kaya nag-file ako ng libel case,” he added.

Environmentalist?

Pentecostes also questioned Garcia’s stand against mining, alleging that several private properties of Garcia and her family in the province have been open to mining operations.

“Ang totoo, may mining operation dito sa bayan namin pero hinihigpitan namin ang monitoring dito. Ang hindi ko lang maintindihan, sinasabi niya na siya ay environmentalist. Siya mismo ang nagpapamina sa tabi ng bahay niya at sa tabi ng mga bahay ng mga kapatid at magulang niya. Hindi ko maintindihan,” he said.

“Sinasabi niya na anti-mining siya, eh bakit niya pinayagang ipamina ang mga private property nila?” he added.

I would have believed what Pentecostes was saying but I asked Esperlita Garcia on the above claims and this is her response:

He is lying for i never allowed mining in my own property. He said he was not aware of my arrest. It was just then the own initiative of his lawyer who requested the services of the NBI to serve the warrant of arrest against me. He even said, he was considerate to me that inspite of my failure to pay my taxes, he just issued me Mayor's Permit. Is the LGU his own that he can just allow business to run without paying the needed business tax? I was charged a criminal case for a VIOLATION OF MUNICIPAL TAX ORDINANCE even if I had paid all my financial obligations at the LGU he leads. Is this fair? this is the reason, I need to attend a court hearing on this criminal case against me tomorrow, Oct 25. He makes me miserable for my anti-mining advocacy hence these two baseless cases against me filed by the Mayor himself.

This is turning out to be a circus and CJ Sereno should step in and ask RTC Judge Conrado Tabaco to explain why he should not be sacked for issuing a warrant of arrest on a libel case citing RPC Article 258 on abortion. Cite the local DoJ for ignorance of the law when e-libel does not technically exist based on the TRO they issued and why did they involved the NBI when clearly Esperlita Garcia could not hurt a fly and pose a danger to no one. The DoJ is a department that is under the president and they should not utter things that's so childish and unprofessional when Asst. Prosecutor Edward Javier pouts and sulks on Garcia airing her side to the media. Well, anyone who was wrongfully accused on a law that technically does not exist, wrongfully charged, arrested and imprisoned illegally with abortion when they meant libel and on top of that posting a bail is like being victimized by a kidnap for ransom gang. A complaint against the NBI for illegal arrest and imprisonment should be in order if we want this incident as what the mayor says to be a teachable moment and not just him giving a “lesson” to a grandma. The DILG must school if they are not doing it already local elected officials about tolerance and proper use and management of of the military, police and the National Bureau of Investigation.

What the mayor, the local DoJ people, and the NBI did was showcase the feudal mindset of people given authority and sadly they seem incapable of handling it correctly. This is like the problem in the legislation of Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 or RA10175 we have people who are clueless on the workings of the internet specifically Facebook regulating what is beyond them. When people post on Facebook, it does not automatically show everywhere or worldwide as some ignoramuses would like to believe. It took me awhile to look for the posting in question and all I got was a jpg image instead of the original posting so please stop hallucinating that it was that easy besides who cares about the reputation of a small municipal town mayor? It is not like politicians in the Philippines are highly regarded for integrity, so quit it and stop harassing grandma you bullies!

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