An arrest warrant has been issued against former Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada, who was convicted for libel.
Signed by Presiding Rowena Nieves A. Tan of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 118, the warrant of arrest came after the Supreme Court (SC) denied with finality in Nov. last year the motion for reconsideration filed by Mejorada.
The warrant of arrest, dated Dec. 10, 2019, was referred to the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and PNP-CIG for service.
According to the ICPO, it has yet to receive the copy of the warrant of arrest.
Mejorada’s motion for reconsideration sought to reverse the decision that affirmed his conviction.
The SC’s Second Division said: “No substantial argument having been adduced to warrant the reconsideration sought.”
“As correctly ruled by the Court of Appeals (CA), the elements of libel were sufficiently established by the prosecution,” the SC said.
“It was not necessary to establish that the publication was motivated by any malice since the articles were not privileged communication or fair comments; thus, malice is presumed,” it further said.
The CA found Mejorada guilty of 4 counts of libel over 4 Facebook and blog posts accusing Senator Franklin Drilon of alleged overpricing and other irregularities in various projects in Iloilo, including the Iloilo Convention Center. Its decision was finalized last March.
Mejorada, who has been sentenced to 2 to 4 years in prison, said he would bravely face the consequences of his actions.
“If imprisonment be the price for courageously exposing the truth, I have prepared myself and my family to accept my fate,” he stressed.IMT
