YEARENDER: Celebrities topbill cases in QC (First of 2 parts)

MANILA, Philippines -  Known for years as the “city of the stars,” Quezon City has been the home of the country’s major television networks and many of their prized celebrities. But this year, some of these personalities have starred not just in movies or television programs but also in a number of cases filed at the QC Hall of Justice.

Among the more serious cases involving celebrities is the murder case filed against model Althea Altamirano and her boyfriend, Fernando Quiambao Jr., who were both tagged as masterminds in the killing of model and part-time ABS-CBN talent Julie Ann Rodelas.

Rodelas was shot dead and pushed from a sport utility vehicle in Cubao on Nov. 6, hours after she was abducted while she was with Altamirano near the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

After her arrest on Nov. 11, Altamirano admitted that she agreed to her boyfriend’s plan to teach Rodelas “a lesson” for spreading rumors about her. She insisted, however, that she did not expect that Rodelas will be killed.

During their arraignment on Nov. 19, the couple refused to enter a plea, prompting Judge Caridad Walse-Lutero of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 223 to enter a “not guilty” plea for them.

Another suspect, Jaymar Waradji, entered a not guilty plea on the murder charges filed against him. He admitted his participation in the abduction of Rodelas but insisted that he has nothing to do with her murder. He expressed his willingness to become a state witness.

The court is currently hearing a petition to quash the case, filed by the camp of Quiambao, who said his arrest was unlawful as he was taken into custody without a warrant.

The prosecution has since filed its comment, asking Walse-Lutero to dismiss the petition on the grounds that Quiambao was arrested during a “hot pursuit” operation.

Libel cases

Most of the cases involving celebrities at the city’s hall of justice were libel cases that they filed or were filed against them.

On June 4, the RTC Branch 92 Judge Eleuterio Bathan issued a warrant of arrest against talent manager Annabelle Rama for failing to attend the court hearings involving 14 counts of libel filed by actress Nadia Montenegro over the alleged libelous remarks that Rama posted on her Twitter account.

Montenegro claimed that she was the one that the talent manager called “piggy” on Twitter. She also said Rama alleged that she had an affair with another man and is unable to pay her bills.

Rama, however, denied the allegations, noting that she only had a single post that was addressed to Montenegro.

In relation to the case, the talent manager filed unjust vexation charges against the actress. The case was raffled to the Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) Branch 42. Both cases are currently under judicial dispute resolution.

Also in June, actress Amalia Fuentes filed 11 counts of libel against Rama over her alleged libelous Twitter posts.

Unlike the case of Montenegro, however, assistant city prosecutor John Patrick Corpuz dismissed the libel charges, noting that there is no such thing as Internet libel under the Revised Penal Code.

Corpuz also dismissed the libel charges filed by Fuentes against columnist Bianca Gonzales over her article published in The STAR on Feb. 12.

According to Corpuz, the article was a “fair and true report” as it was merely a statement of past events as recounted by the talent manager.

The city prosecutor’s office also dismissed a libel case filed by showbiz writer Jobert Sucaldito against comedian John Lapus over the latter’s alleged derogatory statements uttered in the now-defunct GMA-7 program “Showbiz Central.”

In the resolution, assistant city prosecutor Leonardo Raul Gonzales dismissed the case for lack of probable cause, noting that Lapus was merely appealing to Sucaldito to “stop writing what he felt were untruthful articles about him.”

Meanwhile, still pending before the City Prosecutor’s Office is a libel case filed by detained former policeman Rizal Alih against movie director Carlo Caparas and his wife, Donna Villa.

In his complaint, Alih said his reputation was damaged when he was portrayed in Caparas’ 1989 film “Arrest Patrolman Alih – Zamboanga Massacre” as the one who beheaded Brig. Gen. Eduardo Batalla.

Alih claimed that he did not kill Batalla, citing the latter’s death certificate, which showed that the general died of heart attack.

In their joint counter-affidavit, Caparas and Villa said that Alih only has himself to blame for his infamy. They said that Alih’s notoriety was well-known to the public regardless of the movie.

Alih is facing a separate serious illegal detention charge before the RTC Branch 101 over the 1989 siege of Camp Cawa-Cawa in Zamboanga City.

Tulfos vs Claudine, Raymart

On May 6, celebrity couple Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto figured in an altercation with columnist Ramon Tulfo at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

And while the cases that stemmed from the incident were filed before the Pasay RTC, separate cases were also filed in Quezon City against Tulfo’s brothers Erwin, Raffy, and Ben over their alleged threatening statements aired on their TV5 program “T3” on May 7.

In May 24, RTC 219 judge Bayani Vargas issued a temporary protection order (TPO) that prohibited the Tulfos from getting within 500 meters of the Santiago couple.

But following Vargas’ retirement, acting judge Maria Filomena Singh, who took over the case, dissolved the TPO and junked the petition for writ of amparo filed by the camp of the celebrity couple, noting that “only extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances are proper subjects of a (writ of Amparo).”

The couple has since filed a motion for reconsideration.

In relation to the alleged threatening statements, assistant city prosecutor Rowena Balagtas recommended on Nov. 23 the filing of two counts of grave threats against Erwin and Raffy and one count against Ben for uttering threats that “alluded the infliction of physical harm upon complainant spouses.”

Erwin’s counsel Nelson Borja sought the reinvestigation of the case, saying that they were not aware of the schedule of the preliminary investigation hearings.

However, MTC Branch 38 judge Nadine Jessica Corazon Fama denied the motion and instead ordered the Tulfos to submit their counter-affidavits.

In his counter-affidavit, Erwin insisted that his statements were “natural reaction and expression of personal opinion as a result of the mauling incident” involving the couple and his older brother.

Bonita Baran

Aside from cases involving celebrities, the media also followed cases this year that turned those who were involved into personalities themselves.

In July, housemaid Bonita Baran – who was partially blind, with her face still swollen from supposed beatings – shocked the nation as she recounted the maltreatment that she suffered under the hands of her former employers.

In August, Baran formally filed charges against couple Reynold and Anna Liza Marzan, who later surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation.

During the trial on serious illegal detention charges, Baran narrated how Anna Liza detained, abused, maltreated, and threatened to kill her several times when she was the family’s housemaid from 2007 to 2012. Baran also implicated Reynold, saying he just tolerated the actions of his wife.

In his resolution of the bail petition of the Marzan couple this December, RTC Branch 77 Judge Germano Francisco Legaspi allowed Reynold to post a bail of P150, 000 in exchange for his temporary liberty.

Legaspi noted that the prosecution failed to show evidence that the couple conspired to detain their former housemaid. He denied, however, the motion of Anna Liza, noting that the defense failed to discredit the testimony of Baran.

The court has yet to resolve the partial motion for reconsideration filed by Baran’s camp.