Woman faces libel rap for FB rumors

A woman in Cebu City is facing trial for libel for posting rumors on Facebook of an alleged murder plot which she blamed on  her brother’s girlfriend.

The Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office elevated the case to the Regional Trial Court last Thursday and recommended bail of P6,000 for her temporary liberty.

Assistant City Prosecutor Ricky Jones Macabaya said he gave the woman the opportunity to refute the allegations but she never filed a counter-affidavit.

He said the words posted online were clearly defamatory.

Cebu Daily News is withholding her name until her side is heard in the case.

The complaint was filed by a 57-year-old woman against her live-in partner’s two sisters.

The prosecutor, however, dismissed the complaint against one of the siblings since she was not the author of the FB posts.

The complainant said she was surprised to read the remarks of the sister on the latter’s FB account last Jan. 1, 2014.

She said the two sisters  fabricated rumors to  humiliate her and  accused her of  “arranging a  plot to kill” the  siblings’ mother in order to get money.

The girlfriend said the allegations have caused her sleepless nights and hypertension.

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