Sotto to sue Cocoy Dayao over name-calling in 'Silent No More' blog post

For allegedly calling him names, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III on Monday said he will file a cyber-libel complaint against the man supposedly behind the “Silent No More” blog.

“We’re filing a case against him,” Sotto told media when sought for his reaction over reports that Edward Angelo “Cocoy” Dayao, who had been tagged as the “operator” of the blog, has left the country.

“His name-calling, that’s my basis. Balewala yung sinasabi niya hindi kami pumirma, nag-imbento siya ng storyang ganoon na mali, na hindi naman kami pina-pirma talaga. Balewala yun. Yung name-calling niya ang libelous,” Sotto added.

Sotto earlier called out the blog after it labeled several senators allied with the Duterte administration “Malacañang dogs.” The blog supposedly made it appear that the seven senators did not sign a resolution urging the government to address the recent spate of killings, especially of children, on purpose.

The same blog entry supposedly also referred to Sotto as a “rapist, plagiarist, and bigot.”

“Yung mga basher sa social media, opinyon nila yun. Kung opinyon, okay lang yun, pero once you declare that’s a fact, these guys, ganito, ganyan, ibang usapan na yun,” Sotto said.

“Kung opinyon nila hindi nila gusto mukha ko, hindi nila gusto bigote ko, okay lang yun, hindi ko na papansin yung mga ganun,” he added.

Sotto said the NBI has already confirmed that Dayao is the owner of the Silent No More blog.

He said he also intends to file cases against several others involved in the operation of the blog. 

Sotto also wants Dayao’s passport canceled.

Asked about the possibility of Dayao extending a public apology, Sotto said: “Public apology niya? Walang mangyayari doon. Pasuntok na lang siya sa ’kin kung gusto niya.”

In a previous Senate hearing on fake news, Dayao was also tagged as the “operator” of the blog, according to Senator Cynthia Villar, who based her information on “research” provided to her office.

Dayao was a no-show at the said hearing last October 4.

Dayao has not posted any tweets on his social media account since October 1. His profile page says “offline.” —JST, GMA News