Cyber libel charges: Gov. Garcia’s critic  Burden posts bail

CEBU, Philippines —  Three out of eight warrants for the case of cyber libel, were served yesterday, Dec 1, 2023, against Rowena Burden, one of the staunch critics of Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

Burden was brought to the National Bureau of Investigation NBI- Central Visayas Regional Office (CEVRO) where she signed the three warrants.

Burden, who posted about the serving of the warrants on her Facebook page, said the NBI CEVRO agents were set to bring her to their office for processing including taking of her mugshots, before they proceeded to RTC Toledo Branch 29 where she could post bail.

In an interview with the media, Burden said she's putting in her trust with the justice system as she knows she is up against someone powerful.

Earlier last month, the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor (OPP) found grounds to charge Burden with eight counts of cyber libel in relation to her series of Facebook posts against Gov. Garcia.

According to the nine-page resolution by Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Marlon Atillo and approved by Provincial Prosecutor Ludivico Vistal Cutaran, Burden’s posts “hurl malicious, false, denigrating, and defamatory imputations cruelly and deliberately designed to malign the person, character, and honor” of Gov. Gwen.

Based on her Facebook posts, which the NBI CEVRO submitted as evidence, Burden called out Garcia for being a liar and also accused the governor in using public money to fund trips abroad and in buying properties. Burden also posted on social media the governor’s alleged sexual and personal relationships.

“The incontrovertible evidence of defamatory character are the very statements which is the subject matter of these complaints where Respondent (Burden) publicly called the Private Complainant (Gov. Gwen) of being a liar, a bully, a corrupt person, by implying the use of public funds for her personal gain, for soliciting sex, an immoral person for being a narcissist,” the resolution read.

According to Section 4(c)4 of the “Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012” cyber libel is libel, as defined in Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), committed through a computer system or any other similar means.

Burden, for her part, has also filed complaints of abuse of power, corruption, and violation of the code of conduct and ethics for public officials against the governor before the Office of the Ombudsman last October