DOJ backs Davao City mayor’s libel suit vs Cullen

DAVAO CITY — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has upheld the city prosecutor’s resolution indicting Olongapo-based Irish priest Fr. Shay Cullen on a P50-million libel case filed by Davao City Mayor Benjamin de Guzman.

The DOJ, in an order issued by Undersecretary Regis Puno, said the investigating prosecutor did not commit any error that would justify reversal of the resolution against Cullen.

De Guzman filed the libel case against Cullen after the priest allegedly accused the mayor of coddling a death squad out to liquidate street children in this city.

The mayor was irked when Cullen sought help from non-government organizations and individuals from all over the world through the Internet, supposedly to pressure De Guzman to put a stop to such treatment of street children.

Several institutions did respond to Cullen’s call, further angering the mayor. De Guzman denied Cullen’s allegations which, he said, maligned him not only as a public official but also as a person.

Cullen’s lawyer earlier had filed a petition seeking a reversal of the city prosecutor’s resolution with the regional state prosecutor’s office. The petition was, in turn, elevated to the DOJ.

De Guzman said there was no basis for Cullen’s accusations, noting that Davao City was named the country’s "Most Child-Friendly City" for the second straight year by the United Nations International Children’s Fund (Unicef).

Cullen, who heads an Olon-gapo-based NGO involved in a campaign against child abuse, is out on temporary liberty after posting a P10,000 bail bond. — Edith Regalado