Former VP candidate Bello arrested for cyber-libel case filed by ex-Davao City official 

FORMER Akbayan Party-list representative and vice-presidential candidate Walden F. Bello was arrested on Monday over a cyber-libel complaint filed by a former Davao City information official whom the former publicly accused of being involved in the illegal drug trade.   

“Walden was arrested in his house at 4:00 pm today,” Leomar Doctolero, who is part of Mr. Bello’s staff said in a Viber message.  

“This is in relation to the cyber-libel cases filed by Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio’s former press officer Jefry Tupas.” 

Mr. Doctolero said the former congressman was to be transferred to Camp Karingal from Quezon City Police station 8 based on the directive of the District Director of the Quezon City Police Department.  

The bail for Mr. Bello’s release was set at P48,000, according to the arrest warrant issued by Davao City Branch 10 Regional Trial Court Presiding Judge Retrina E. Fuentes.  

Mr. Tupas filed the cyber-libel charges on March 7 before the Davao City Prosecutor’s office.  

The cyber-libel complaint stemmed from a statement made by Mr. Bello, where he accused the former city official of getting nabbed in a drug raid at a beach party for “snorting P1.5 million worth of drugs” with his friends.  

Also in March, the Davao City council declared the former congressman and academic persona non grata, or unwelcome in the city after he tagged Davao as the “drug center of the South.” — John Victor D. Ordoñez