Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla has ordered the dismissal of the cyber libel case filed by talent manager Annabelle Rama Gutierrez against former actor-producer Joher Jayke Joson. In a resolution, Remulla said: “Considering that the element of malice is not present, the instant case must be dismissed for lack of probable cause.” The ruling reversed and set aside the March 21, 2022 order of the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office which filed the cyber libel case against Joson before the Quezon City regional trial court (RTC). “The City Prosecutor is hereby directed to withdraw the Information against the Respondent-Appelant Joher Jayke Joson, and to report the action taken hereon within ten (10) days from receipt of this Resolution,” Remulla’s resolution stated. The cyber libel complaint arose from a published article where Joson was quoted as calling Gutierrez a “liar” and a “swindler.” Quoting a Supreme Court (SC) decision, Remulla said that malice “is present when it is shown that the author of the libelous remarks made such statements when it is shown that the author of the libelous remarks made such statements with the knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard as to the truth or falsity thereof.” Remulla’s resolution also stated: “The remarks of Respondent-Appellant (Joson) were not defamatory. On the contrary, Respondent-Appellant was able to present the documentary proof on which he based his statements upon. “Specifically, Respondent-Appellant presented the Criminal History records of Complainant-Appellee (Gutierrez), issued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to support his claims of pending cases against her. “Furthermore, the matter was previously subject of other news articles. Hence, Respondent-Appellant did not act with malice in issuing said remarks against Complainant-Appellee.”