Judge orders arrest of Tulfo brods

MANILA, Philippines - A Quezon City judge ordered the arrest of broadcasters Raffy and Erwin Tulfo in connection with a libel case filed by a police officer they called a thief in their television program in 2011.

Regional Trial Court Branch 92 Judge Eleuterio Bathan issued the arrest warrants on Monday, a few days after the case filed by Senior Police Officer 3 Abubakhar Maglangit was raffled to his sala. The judge set bail at P6,000 each.

Raffy posted bail yesterday afternoon, while Erwin has yet to appear before the court.

Sought for comment, lawyer Nelson Borja told The STAR that his client, Erwin, “was really surprised” since they never received a subpoena informing them of the preliminary investigation of the case.

Last week, assistant city prosecutor Ferdinand Baylon found probable cause to file the libel case against the broadcasters after they failed to attend the scheduled hearings.

The case stemmed from the complaint of Maglangit, who claimed that the two called him a thief in the Nov. 19, 2011 episode of their T3 program in TV5.

“This is clearly an imputation of a crime and had the effect of besmirching the reputation of the complainant. The truthfulness of the allegation (against the complainant) is immaterial,” read the resolution.

In his complaint, Maglangit claimed that the Tulfos uttered degrading and insulting words against him when his photo was shown during the episode.

Borja said they would follow due process, but noted that they have yet to receive a copy of the complaint. He said he would also represent Raffy in the case.