Philip Lustre seeks transfer of cyber libel case from Davao City

The camp of veteran journalist Philip Lustre Jr., on Wednesday said they will ask that the cyber libel case against him be transferred from Davao City.

“For the court, we are in the course of filing the necessary pre-arraignment remedies including a motion for reinvestigation, motion to quash, and to of course transfer the venue because we do not feel safe in Davao City,” Lustre's lawyer Dino De Leon said in a press briefing.

He added that this is “considering the known proclivity of the Duterte family for violence.”

Police officers arrested Lustre in Quezon City on Saturday on the strength of a cyber libel arrest warrant issued by a court in Davao City.

De Leon later said that the complainant is lawyer Manases Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Lustre has been temporarily released after posting bail.

De Leon said he has also asked Davao City Prosecutor Jhopee Avanceña to confirm her ties to Honeylet Avanceña, the partner of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag earlier said that Jhopee Avanceña and Honeylet Avanceña are cousins.

“Kami talaga ay nagugulat na pinirmahan niya ito kung related talaga siya kay Honeylet na kinakasama, longtime partner, in fact the de facto first lady nung mga panahon ni Rodrigo Duterte,” De Leon said.

(We are really surprised that she signed this, if she is indeed related to Honeylet, the live-in partner, longtime partner, and in fact, the de facto first lady during Rodrigo Duterte’s time.)

“We are asking for the record and, formally, we already wrote to the city prosecutor to confirm [her] relationship with Honeylet Avanceña,” he added.

He said they are also asking the prosecutor’s office for proof of service that subpoenas and summons were sent to Lustre.

De Leon said they are also asking the prosecutor’s office to show the efforts made to determine Lustre’s correct address.

Lustre’s camp previously said it was looking into what appeared to be a violation of his right to due process during the preliminary investigation, as he had neither been served nor received a subpoena or notice.

Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon also said that Lustre was denied due process because he was not given the opportunity to respond to the complaint before an arrest warrant was issued against him. — BM, GMA News