Davao solon, former TV host file libel vs tabloid over ‘Burlesk King’

DAVAO CITY — A congressman and a former television host who were reportedly caught in a compromising position in a hotel room filed separately libel charges against a tabloid and a radio station for allegedly maligning their reputation.

Davao City first district Rep. Prospero Nograles filed before the city prosecutor’s office here last Friday libel charges against the Manila-based Abante Tonite, its publisher Allen Macasaet, managing editor Nicolas Quijano Jr., and reporters Bernard Aguinod and Erwin Corpuz.

Ex-TV host Jeanette Leuterio, on the other hand, filed separate libel charges Wednesday against dxMF Bombo Radyo station manager Joseph Hipala and anchorman Alex Adonis for allegedly sullying her reputation over the airwaves.

Nograles and Leuterio are the principal characters in the so-called "Burlesk King" scandal, where the two were said to have been caught in flagrante delicto in a hotel room by the woman’s husband, police Chief Inspector Leo Angelo Leuterio.

In his complaint, Nograles said that Abante Tonite "maliciously published a series of libelous reports, gossips and/or articles that maligned his honor and reputation."

He stressed that the tabloid named him as the "Burlesk King" forced to run naked at gunpoint after being caught in bed with the wife of a police major inside a hotel room.

The wife of the police major happened to be Leuterio, the reports said, host of the top-rated "Labs ko si Mommy" which was later canceled by ABS-CBN management for reasons perhaps relating to the scandal.

"Each one of the Abante Tonite malicious reports, when taken together, publicly and maliciously imputed to me the commission of the crime of adultery and of acts, condition, status and circumstances which caused and continue to cause great dishonor, discredit and contempt upon my person, honor and reputation, and upon that also of my family," Nograles said.

In his privilege speech during the other week’s session at Congress, Nograles also vehemently denied the accusations, saying these were purely lies. He had earlier said it was impossible for him to have been a party in the scandal since he was out of the country at the time it allegedly took place.

Meanwhile, Leuterio, who also strongly denied the accusations, said she will be filing more libel charges against other media entities that have maliciously implicated her in the scandal, saying the reports caused unquantifiable suffering on her and her family.

The Leuterios have three children but have since separated. She said that she has lost a number of advertising endorsements because of the "Burlesk King" story, which she had described as the "highest form of calumny fabricated by a sick mind."