By Chito Chavez
Quezon City Vice-Mayor Joy Belmonte yesterday filed libel and cyber libel cases against former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Chairman Manuel “Manoling’’ Morato before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office in connection with an article entitled “Joy Belmonte Swak sa Graft” that was published in the February 15 issue of the tabloid “Saksi Mga Balitang Totoo Ngayon,” accusing her of filing a resolution that favored her three siblings in a transaction in the city.
Quezon City Vice-Mayor Joy Belmonte. (Mark Balmores/MANILA BULLETIN)
Appearing before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office, Belmonte said the story, written by Joel Amongo, was a “factually incorrect and malicious’’ article in a suit that was already dismissed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Prosecutor.
“This is why I have decided to file a libel case against Saksi: Mga Balitang Totoo Ngayon and also against Mr. Manuel "Manoling" Morato - who serves as the source for the story - for the publication of the article,’’ Belmonte said.
“I am confident that I will be cleared of these false accusations, so I have filed the case to do justice to the truth and, more importantly, show that there is no space for "fake news" and disinformation in Quezon City,’’ she added.
In filing the cases, Belmonte noted a portion of the article, which read "Joy Belmonte Swak sa Graft Nagpasa ng resolution na pabor sa 3 kapatid” insinuated that she had already been found guilty of a complaint filed at the Office of the Ombudsman.
“But whoever is maligning me will be unhappy to know that, as of press time, I have received no such complaint as the Office of the Ombudsman has not yet established whether the complaint itself has substance,’’ Belmonte noted.
She said “only after they have established probable cause can the Ombudsman file an actual case’’ adding the complaint had already been dismissed twice by the Department of Justice and the City Prosecutor.
In a strongly worded statement, Belmonte has declared war saying “it appears to me that this is a clear case of forum shopping that I will not take sitting down.”
Insisting that her character was maligned, Belmonte asserted the insinuation in the article that “I passed a resolution in favor of my three siblings as vice mayor is likewise extremely false.”
Expounding further, Belmonte said “I cannot unilaterally pass a resolution as Vice Mayor of Quezon City. It is a collegial act – an act which requires the participation of the whole City Council – to which I am only a presiding officer. My role as presiding officer is merely to administer the sessions.”
At the time the questioned resolution was passed, Belmonte said that she was not the presiding officer, citing that her signature was not in the said resolution.
For the record, Belmonte said it was Sta. Lucia Realty, which applied for the Certificate of Exception, allowing deviations to the zoning ordinance which Morato was complaining about.
She explained that Sta. Lucia Realty under an existing joint venture with Jose Morato, the former PCSO chairman’s brother, who applied for the permits for the structure in question.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. Morato, the author of the article and the newspaper's publisher had resorted to this course of action for their own monetary gain, political clout, or false prestige. Whatever their interests, I assure you that my only interest is revealing the blatant lies that have been hurled against me,’’ Belmonte said.
In asserting that she was an advocate of press freedom, Belmonte assured of having “always regarded press freedom as one of the foundations of a healthy, democratic society, but when that freedom impinges on the truth, then we - as public servants - must work to place the pursuit of truth above all else’’.
Former Quezon City Councilor and Belmonte’s counsel Ariel Inton said there was clear intention to tarnish the image of the vice-mayor as the newspaper was distributed for free in the city’s 142 barangays.
Citing the timing was suspect, Belmonte’s legal team is inclined to believe that politics was behind the said act as Belmonte’s camp remained mum on the identity of the “men behind the propaganda” as they have yet to establish airtight evidence on the matter.
No monetary damage was placed by Belmonte on her complaint for the article which also came out on Saksi’s website.