Philippine Consul General in Milan Sues Daily Tribune for PHP10 Million in Cyberlibel Case

Milan, Italy – The Consul General of the Philippines in Milan, Elmer Cato, on Monday initiated a PHP10-million cyberlibel lawsuit against the Daily Tribune. The legal action stems from the newspaper’s allegations accusing Cato of neglecting his duties and engaging in corrupt practices in relation to an immigration consultancy firm currently under investigation.

According to Philippines News Agency, the lawsuit, which includes 17 counts of cyberlibel under the Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Law, was filed before Angeles City Chief Prosecutor Oliver Garcia in Pampanga. Jocelyn Martinez-Clemente, counsel for Cato, named Willie Fernandez, president of Concept and Information Group Inc., the publisher of Daily Tribune, along with editors, reporters of the publication, and other individuals, as respondents in the complaints.

The accusations against Cato originated from a series of reports and commentary in the Tribune and its sister publication, Dyaryo Tirada. These publications alleged that Cato was involved in dereliction of duty and corruption for supposedly ignoring complaints from Filipinos who claimed to have been defrauded by the Filipino-owned company Alpha Assistenza SRL. Clemente stated that these articles were part of a fabricated narrative to portray Cato as a negligent and corrupt diplomat.

Clemente further argued that the 92 complaints of aggravated fraud filed against Alpha Assistenza before the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Milan serve as evidence that the consulate was actively addressing the issue. She suggested that Cato was targeted due to business rivalries among Filipino-owned agencies in Milan and his plans to regulate these companies to prevent exorbitant service fees.

Cato accused the Tribune of conducting a disinformation campaign, stating that allegations of inaction on his part were unfounded and based on hearsay. He emphasized that some individuals, including Vanessa Antonio, Enrique Catilo, and Apple Cabasis, named in the cyberlibel case, could not have filed complaints with the consulate as they are based in the Philippines. These individuals are among over 200 applicants who allegedly paid Alpha Assistenza more than PHP20 million for non-existent jobs in Italy.

Cato also pointed out that the Tribune’s reporting deliberately excluded factual information and official statements from the Department of Foreign Affairs that contradicted the publication’s claims of his supposed inaction. As of the time of the report, the Daily Tribune had not issued a response, stating that they were not aware of the case.