(ABOGADO) The Quezon City regional trial court has convicted Jessant So of seven counts of cyberlibel for his Facebook posts against Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Estrada announced the court’s decision in a statement and said it has been validated that So’s accusations against him were false.
Estrada hopes this would serve as a lesson to those who malign others using their social media accounts.
According to him, the court found that So’s statements were libelous, malicious, defamatory, false, misleading, and were intended to cast aspersion on his character.
So was sentenced to four to eight years’ imprisonment for each of the counts.
“He should face the consequences and serve his sentence,” the Senator said.
Estrada said people have the freedom and the right to criticize public figures in a democracy, but these have their limits.
“Ngunit may hangganan din ang mga karapatang ito lalo na kung walang bahid ng katotohanan ang mga paratang at mga binitawang salita at ang tanging layon lamang ay makapanira ng pagkatao,” he said.
He said he has the right to protect his reputation and defend his rights, and the court’s decision backs this up.
“Walang karapatan ang sinoman na yurakan ang pagkatao ng iba, anuman ang katayuan nila sa buhay – nasa posisyon man o ordinaryong Pilipino – lalo na kung hangarin lamang ay makapanira ng repustasyon at kredibilidad,” he said.