Walden Bello files counter affidavit vs. ex-Davao City exec's cyber libel raps

Vice presidential bet Professor Walden Bello on Wednesday filed his counter affidavit in Davao City to the P10 million cyber libel complaint of former Davao City chief information officer Jefry Tupas.

Bello, who was declared persona non grata in Davao City, personally filed the counter affidavit at the Davao City Prosecutor's Office, together with his lead counsel, Laban ng Masa senatorial candidate Atty. Luke Espiritu.

“Hinahamon ko lang naman si Sara (Duterte) sa debate, but instead of giving us a response, cyber libel, persona non grata, narco politician daw ako. Naku. (I was just challenging Sara to a debate, but instead of giving us a response, they filed a cyber libel complaint, declared me persona non grata, and called me a narco politician.) That’s a way. That’s already an indication of how they will handle criticisms. Instead of coming out in a debate, ganito,” Bello said.

"(It) is a preview of how she (Sara Duterte) will address issues if she were to win the election, not by rational discussion but by mechanisms of character assassination and other underhanded methods," he added.

He earlier slammed Tupas for attending a party at a beach resort in Davao de Oro in November 2021 that was raided by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Some P1.5 million worth of party drugs were seized in the operation.

Tupas admitted to attending the party, but said she left after eating and before the raid that happened. A day after, she tendered her resignation and was "terminated from work" by Davao City Mayor and vice presidential bet Sara Duterte.

Bello and Espiritu maintained that the ex-legislator was merely stating reports by the media about Tupas, and alleged that the cyber libel complaints may be ordered by Mayor Duterte herself.

“Ms. Tupas is a tool of a principal and that is Sara Duterte. Make no mistake about it. She will not file this case if not ordered by her principal who is Sara Duterte. Why would she file cases against him when she herself, I think, is also a victim of being dictated upon by Sara Duterte,” Espiritu said.

They reiterated their calls for Duterte to explain herself and attend election-related debates.

Bello also previously claimed that Davao City is the "drug center" of the southern portion of the Philippines. Sara Duterte's father, President Rodrigo Duterte, has been known for his campaign against illegal drugs.

In response to the allegation, the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) questioned why Bello “deliberately” withheld such information from the PDEA and the Philippine National Police.

Due to this, the party said it has requested an investigation into the “extent” of the ex-legislator’s knowledge and involvement in the alleged illegal drug trade in the city.

In a statement, Duterte's spokesperson Mayor Christina Garcia-Frasco of Liloan, Cebu said that the cyber libel complaint and Bello's persona non grata status in Davao City "are but the result of his own actions and utterances."

"This has nothing to do with Mayor Sara Duterte or the debates as Mr. Bello himself is the author of his own fate, having paraded blatant lies and peddled falsehoods with nary a concern for the truth," Frasco added.

Bello "should be man enough to face the consequences of his own actions rather than hide behind his penchant for attacking Mayor Sara Duterte as a smokescreen for his inability to substantiate his wild claims with actual facts and evidence," she also said. —AOL, GMA News