Republic of the Philippines )

Province of Negros Oriental )S.S.

City of Dumaguete

AFFIDAVIT – COMPLAINT

I, Jennifer M .Bacud , of legal age, Filipino, married, and a resident of

Barangay 2 Ilaya, Tanjay City, Negros Oriental, Philippines after having been
lawfully sworn to, respectfully declare that:

1. I am filing a criminal Complaint against GRACE BAYOT, of legal age,

single, Filipino, and a resident of Canday-ong, Barangay Clindagan Dumaguete
City Philippines.
2. Grace Bayot, also nicknamed “Grasya”, committed the crime of libel
against me, in relation to Section 4 (c) (4) of Republic Act No. 10175. Committed
as follows:
3. On November 28, 2016, I opened my Facebook account. To my great
shock, I read a post by Grace Bayot on her Facebook account that, to my mind,
was malicious, defamatory and insulting to me. I promptly blocked her account so
that her post will not appear on my Facebook wall. However, at the time, there
were several people who can saw Grace Bayot’s malicious post because there are
number of ‘ likes’ already about what Grace Bayot posted earlier. Those other
people also made their own comments to Ms. Bayot’s posts;
4. Some of the defamatory, demeaning or malicious statements and
innuendos posted over several days, made by Grace Bayot against me and my
alleged tomboy lover, which I was able to read from another user account, are as
follows:
a. “Hoi Jennifer Bacud klaruha imong istoria kanang tinood! Ayaw
pagmugna storya! Ang tinood storya nga imong uyab karon TOMBOY!”
(November 25, 2016 posted 4:27 PM)
b. Tomboy nga basura ni Frelin gisalo ni Jennifer Bacud! Bwahahaha “
(November 25, 2016, posted at 10:03 PM);
c. “Asa imong dilikadesa?!!! “(November 29, 2016 posted at 11:03 PM);
 d. Dai dili na na cla madala ug injection!” (November 29, 2016, posted in
reaction to a comment of a certain Frelin Floren concerning complaint and an
alleged tomboy lover: “awww og mabuang naa raman ko ga work sa sa taly rehad.
Unya ra nako didto akoang pa injection og malatayon pra matiwas…..
bwahahahaaa”):
e. Jinky Arbo … ako Kyle Soo… y n u gidelet conversation nato sa msgr.?
Ky mahadlok mo mabisto ni Jennifer Bacud or Mc. Je? Hay naku dili inyo account
ayaw nn iopen oi. Aybaya mo! GUILTY mn gud mong duha. Dats y!!!!!!”
(December 3, 2016 posted at 9:25 A.M.)
f. Irene Irene Patrocinio kabalo sila da akong password. Delete jud tanan
ky mahadlok cla mabisto ilang relasyon nga ABNORMAL! Girl ug Tomboy”
(December 5, 2016 at 11:04 PM)
g. “Naay koi picture nn duha. Remembera katonga naghalok mo infront of
me nagkaona mo madang? Bwahahaha” (December 4, 2016 11:40 PM)

5. The foregoing Facebook account posts of Grace Bayot are libelous

because:
a. They imputed an alleged act or status (my supposed relationship with a
tomboy, hence, a same=sex lover) which she projected as abnormal or distasteful
and laughable;
b. the imputation was published via the internet through Facebook postings
for dozens of third parties, if not hundreds , to read;
c. the imputation was malicious for there is no good reason or justifiable
motive to ridicule me or malign my being a woman, even if it be assumed that I am
having same-sex relationship. (In fact, in recent check of Grace Bacud’s Facebook
account, the libelous posts had been deleted already, including the conversation
thread, indicating that she knew what she did was wrong and unlawful.);
d. the imputation of an alleged same-sex relationship on my part has
discredited or dishonored me before my friends and relatives;
6. Due to libelous and malicious imputation Facebook postings of Grace
Bayot against my womanhood, I have been so embarrassed or humiliated. I have
been damaged emotionally, and my peace have been unduly disturbed. Grace
Bayot must held criminally and civilly liable for her indecent and libelous remarks
against my person. Justice must be served.
 7. I am executing this affidavit to attest to the truthfulness of the foregoing,
and to support my formal criminal Complaint against GRACE BAYOT, and for
whatever legal purposes this may served.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF , I hereby set my hand this 27th day of December

2016 in Dumguete City, Philippines.

JENNIFER M. BACUD
Affiant- Complainant

JURAT

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this December 27, 2016 in

Dumaguete City, Philippines. Affiant presented to me her valid LTO drivers
license, No. GO2-134-456, to expire on April 23, 2017.

DARIO G. TORRES
TH
4 Assistant Prosecutor
CPO Dumaguete City

CERTIFICATION

I HEREBY CERTIFY, that I have personally examined the affiant-

complainant, and she acknowledge that she willingly and freely executed the
foregoing Affidavit- Complainant; she understood its contents to the best of her
personal knowledge; and that she was not forced into executing the same after
reading and understanding its content.

DARIO G. TORRES
4TH Assistant Prosecutor
CPO Dumaguete City
 Republic of the Philippines
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
7th Judicial Region
Branch_______
Dumaguete City

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,

Plaintiff,
-versus- Criminal Case No. _____
For: CYBER or ONLINELIBEL
Under Republic Act No. 10175
GRACE BAYOT aka “GRASYA”,
A resident of Canday-ong, Calindagan
Dumaguete City,
Accused
x-----------------------------------------------/

INFORMATION

The undersigned Prosecutor upon the complaint of Jennifer Bacud, a

resident of Ilaya, Tanjay City, Negros Oriental accuses GRACE BAYOT aka
“GRASYA”, A RESIDENT OF OF Canday-ong, Calindagan, Dumaguete City,
Negros Oriental, for the crime of LIBEL committed as follows:

That on or about 25th day of November , 2016, in the City of Dumaguete,

Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named
accused GRACE BAYOT aka “GRASYA”, did then and there willingly,
unlawfully and feloniously, with deliberate and malicious intent of maligning,
impeaching and discrediting the honesty, integrity, reputation, prestige and honor
of Jennifer Bacud and a woman of good reputation and social standing in the
community and for the purpose of exposing her to public hatred , contempt,
disrespect and ridicule, in her social media account FACEBOOK openly and
publicly posted the following:

“xxx “Hoi Jennifer Bacud klaruha imong istorya kanang tinood! Ayaw pagmugna
storya! Ang tinood storya nga imong uyab karon TOMBOY!” [translated in
English as Jennifer Bacud tell the story clearly and truthfully! Do not fabricate a
story. The truth is your steady now is a lesbian!]= allegedly posted on November
25, 2016 at 4:26 PM

Tomboy nga gibasura ni Ferlin gisalo ni Jennifer Bacud! Bwahahaha!”

[translated in English as: Lesbian who was junked by Frelin and catched by
Jennifer Bacud! Bwahahaha! allegedly posted on November 25, 2016 at 11:09 PM

“Asa ang imong delikadesa?!!!!{ translated in English as: Where is your

decency?!!!!} allegedly posted on November 29,2016 at 11:10 pm and other
words of similar import, thereby maliciously exposing plaintiff and her family to
Public hatred, dishonor, discredit, contempt and ridicule because FACEBOOK is
accessible to the public the latter to suffer social humiliation, embarrassment,
wounded feelings and mental anguish, to the damage and prejudice of said plaintiff
in the amount to be proved during the trial of the case.

Contrary to law.

DARIO G. TORRES
4TH Assistant Prosecutor
CPO Dumaguete City
Roll of Attorney No 8888
IBP Lifetime Member 0956
MCLE Compliance No. VI 9103 issued on June 4, 2016

Approved By:

JULIUS B. BABAO
City Prosecutor
Roll of Attorney No. V245856
MCLE COMPLIANCE NO. v-234556 ISSUED ON June 3, 2015

CERTIFICATION

I hereby certify that a preliminary investigation has been conducted

by the undersigned in accordance with law; That I have examined the complaint
and that on the basis of the sworn statement and other evidence submitted before
me there is reasonable ground that a crime has been committed and that the
accused is probably guilty thereof, that the accused was informed of the complaint
and the evidence submitted against her and she was given the opportunity to
submit controverting evidence.

I further certify that this information is filed with the prior authority of the
City Prosecutor.

Dumaguete City, Philippines, February 23, 207.

DARIO G. TORRES
TH
4 Assistant Prosecutor
CPO Dumaguete City

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 23th February, 2017 in

Dumaguete City Philippines.

Witnesses:
Jennifer M. Bacud
Others

BAIL Recommended:
Ten Thousand Pesos [Php 10,000. 00]

John Bautista
Associate Prosecutor
Roll of Attorney No. 3456
CPO Dumaguete City
 Republic of the Philippines
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
7th Judicial Region
Branch_______
Dumaguete City

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,

Plaintiff,
-versus- DOCKET NO. NPS VII 345-007
For: Preliminary investigation
[CYBER LIBEL under Section 4
Republic Act No 10175]
GRACE BAYOT aka “GRASYA”,
A resident of Canday-ong, Calindagan
Dumaguete City,
Accused
x-----------------------------------------------/

RESOLUTION

Filed for investigation is this complaint for CYBER LIBEL or ONLINE

LIBEL instituted by JENNIFER M. BACUD, a resident of Ilaya, Tanjay City,
Negros Oriental, against respondent GRACE BAYOT aka “ GRASYA”, a resident
of Canday-ong, Calindagan, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental allegedly in
Dumaguete City Philippines.

Respondent refused to receive the subpoena served to her in person by the

process server of this Office as reflected in the subpoena return. Hence, this
resolution.

VERSION OF COMPLAINT

A Capsulized evidence of the complaint as alleged in her affidavit aver, in

substance, that on November 25, 2016 when she opened her FACEBOOK account
she saw respondent posted several messages on her own FACEBOOK account, a
social media. Complainant immediately blocked respondent’s account so that their
common friends or other Facebook users will not read her posts. The following
statements which according to complainant are defamatory and libelous and
expose her and/or to contempt and/or dishonor of her reputation, to quote:

“xxx “Hoi Jennifer Bacud klaruha imong istorya kanang tinood! Ayaw
pagmugna storya! Ang tinood storya nga imong uyab karon TOMBOY!”
[translated in English as Jennifer Bacud tell the story clearly and truthfully! Do not
fabricate a story. The truth is your steady now is a lesbian!]= allegedly posted on
November 25, 2016 at 4:26 PM

Tomboy nga gibasura ni Ferlin gisalo ni Jennifer Bacud! Bwahahaha!”

[translated in English as: Lesbian who was junked by Frelin and catched by
Jennifer Bacud! Bwahahaha! allegedly posted on November 25, 2016 at 11:09 PM

“Asa ang imong delikadesa?!!!!{ translated in English as: Where is your

decency?!!!!} allegedly posted on November 29,2016 at 11:10 pm

According to the complaint the foregoing statements are defamatory and

libelous because it imputed an alleged act or status allegedly for her involvement
or relationship with a lesbian or “tomboy”, hence, a same sex lover which
according to her is distasteful and caused her to be laughable. Further, the
imputation was published in the internet which is FACEBOOK and, thus exposed
to contempt and/or dishonor of her reputation because it was read by hundred of
nitizens using FACEBOOK, a social media. The imputation was malicious for
there is no valid reason to malign complainant even though if it be assumed that
she is engage in a same-sex relationship. And lastly, according to complainant, the
imputation of her same-sex relationship has caused dishonor and discredit her
reputation before her own children, family and relatives.

Attached to the complaint is an alleged screenshot and a machine copy of the

defamatory statements allegedly posted by respondent in her FACEBOOK account
under the account Grace Bayot.

ISSUE: Whether or not there is such evidence sufficient to engender a

well-founded belief as to the fact of the commission of the complaint charged –
CYBER LIBEL to find probable cause against respondent?
 Under Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, libel is
defined as a public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real
or imaginary, or any act or omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to
cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to
blacken the memory of one who is dead. Thus, for an imputation to be libelous, the
following requisites must concur: (a) it must be defamatory; (b) it must be
malicious; (c) it must be given publicly and (d) the victim must be identifiable.

The last foregoing elements are clearly present. There is publication of the
subject statements because they were posted on that FACEBOOK account of
respondent. In libel, publication means making defamatory matter, after it is
written, known to someone other than the person against whom it has been written.
Considering that the same was published in the social media which is visible and
accessible to members and/or mutual friends of the member of the same website
FACEBOOK in this case, publication is clear.

In relation to Republic act No 10175 otherwise known as AN ACT

DEFINING CYBER CRIME, PROVIDING FOR THE PREVENTION,
INVESTIGATION, SUPPRESSION AND THE IMPOSTION OF PENALTIES
THEREFOR AND FOR THE PURPOSES, Section 4 subparagraph c [4] states, to
wit:

“(4) Libel – The unlawful or prohibited acts of libel as defined in Article 355
of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, committed as follows through a computer
system or any other similar means which may be a devised in future .” [italics
provided]

Are the above-quoted statements posted on Facebook account of respondent

defamatory?

As held by the Supreme Court in many libel cases, any imputations covered
by Article 35 is defamatory; under the general rule laid down in Article 354, every
defamatory imputation is presumed to be malicious, even if it is true, if no good
intention and justifiable motive for making it is shown. Thus, when the imputation
is defamatory, the prosecution need not proved malice on the part of the petitioner
(malice in fact), for the already presumes that petitioner’s imputation is malicious
(malice in law). The issue on whether on not the above quoted statements posted
by respondent is malicious should be determined during trial as the ill motive of
respondent needs proof in which the burden is with the complainant. The other
statements quoted in the complaint are not libelous.
 The quote the Supreme Court further, “a preliminary investigation for the
purpose of determining probable cause is not part of the trial. A and exhaustive
presentation of the parties evidence is not required, but only such as may engender
a well founded belief that an offense has been committed and that the accused is
probably guilty thereof”. Further, the Supreme Court held that probable cause is
defined as “ the existence of such facts and circumstances as would excite the
belief in a reasonable mind, acting on the facts within the knowledge of the
prosecutor, that he person charge was guilty of the crime for which he was
prosecuted”. A finding of probable cause “merely binds over the suspect to stand
trial”. It is not pronouncement of guilt”.

The undersigned investigating Prosecutor is convinced that the evidence

submitted supports a finding of probable cause for violation of CYBER LIBEL or
ONLINE LIBEL under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10175 as charged for the
publication or posting above-quoted defamatory statements.

WHREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the undersigned respectfully

recommends that an INFORMATION be filed against respondent GRACE
BAYOT aka “GRASYA” for violation of CYBER or ONLINE LIBEL under
Section 4 of Republic Act 10175 as charged for the publication or posting of the
above-quoted defamatory statements.

January 20, 2017 in Dumaguete City, Philippines.

DARIO G. TORRES
4TH Assistant Prosecutor
CPO Dumaguete City
MCLE Compliance No. VI 9103 issued on June 4, 2016

Approved By:

JULIUS B. BABAO
City Prosecutor
Roll of Attorney No. V245856
MCLE COMPLIANCE NO. v-234556 ISSUED ON June 3, 2015
Copy furnished:
Jennifer M. Bacud NBI Manila
Ilaya, Tanjay City Grace Bayot GRASYA
OCP file