ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Tarriela files cyberlibel rap against vlogger

Tarriela files cyberlibel rap against vlogger

Published Jul 4, 2025 01:26 pm
PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commo. Jay Tarriela (File photo)
PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commo. Jay Tarriela (File photo)
A cyberlibel complaint was filed by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela against a social media personality for allegedly spreading “baseless, malicious, and deeply personal online attacks” against him.
Tarriela filed the charge against Sass Rogando Sasot before the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office on Friday, July 4, through the assistance of the Movement Against Disinformation (MAD).
“This legal action is a necessary response to a series of baseless, malicious, and deeply personal online attacks that have targeted not only my private life but also my duties as the Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea of the Philippine Coast Guard,” Tarriela said.
“While I fully respect the role of free speech in a democratic society, that freedom does not extend to the willful spread of disinformation, personal defamation, or efforts to erode public confidence through falsehoods,” he added.
According to Tarriela, Sasot made social media posts from July 2024 to October 2024 accusing him of bribery, corruption, and cheating.
Tarriela said that the vlogger claimed he was receiving $4 million as “talent fee” from the United States allegedly to issue anti-China remarks in the West Philippine Sea dispute, as well as getting three bags filled with undeclared items from the home of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
The original Facebook page of Sasot, For the Motherland - Sass Rogando Sasot, which has close to a million followers, is no longer accessible to the public. However, a newly created account under Sasot's name has emerged with >font-family: Gilroy; display: inline !important;>more than 624,000 followers.
The coast guard official said that his decision to charge Sasot should be a reminder to the public that freedom of expression “must always be anchored in truth, responsibility, and respect.”
“This step is not solely about defending my name—it is about standing up for every public servant who silently endures online abuse and misrepresentation. I hope this case sends a clear message: that truth matters, and that those who serve the public deserve both respect and protection from malicious attacks,” he added.
In response, Sasot acknowledged the charges filed by Tarriela but zeroed in on the issue of alleged cheating in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).
“Tariella is suing me for calling him a ‘Philippine Military Academy Cheater.’ He should have sued Maj. Edgard Arevalo who said in January 5, 2004, as reported by Philippine Star that their committee found prima facie evidence that the eight cadets (which includes Tariella) cheated in their Management Information Science class,” Sasot said in a Facebook post.
Under our judicial system, Commodore Jay Tarriela has all the right to file a case against anybody, Sasot stated. The vlogger added that she will wait for the legal complaint to be served in her current residence, which is outside the Philippines, so she can file her response.

Related Tags

PCG WPS Jay Tarriela Sass Rogando Sasot vlogger cyberlibel
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.