Doctor who killed Mayor Rose Furigay of Lamitan City convicted of cyber libel
By Liza Jocson
YUMOL (Photo via Liza Jocson)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – A doctor arrested for allegedly murdering Lamitan City, Basilan Mayor Rose Furigay in 2022 has been convicted of several counts of cyber libel.
Dr. Chao-Tiao Yumol, 42, was found guilty in an April 17, 2026, decision by a Davao City Regional Trial Court and sentenced to 70 years in jail.
The court found Yumol guilty in 12 of 26 counts filed by Furigay.
Each conviction carried a prison term ranging from five to seven years and 11 months in prison and fines ranging from P100,000 per count plus P20,000 in exemplary damages.
The case was filed by Furigay before she was shot dead by Yumol during the graduation of her daughter Hannah in a university in Quezon City.
Despite Furigay's death in 2022, the court allowed the case to proceed.
Yumol faced 63 counts of cyber libel filed by different complainants.
Among these were 39 – 26 filed by Furigay and 13 by her husband, Lamitan City Mayor Roderick Furigay.
On Feb. 28, 2026, the court convicted Yumol of two counts of cyber libel filed in 2019 by a private complainant. He was sentenced to five to six years imprisonment.