After the Court of Appeals earlier upheld the libel conviction against Ilonggo blogger Manuel Mejorada, who was sentenced to four years and two months in jail, Judge Rowena Nieves A. Tan of the Regional Trial Court-Branch 118 issued an arrest warrant against the former Iloilo provincial administrator in order for him to serve his sentence.
The case came about after the writer published a series of articles questioning alleged overpricing of the Iloilo Convention Center, among other projects initiated by Senator Franklin Drilon.
According to the court decision: “The Court resolves to deny the motion for reconsideration with finality. No substantial argument has been adduced to warrant the reconsideration.”
The court also elaborated on their determination of what constitutes malice.
“It was not necessary to establish that the publication was motivated by any malice,” the decision noted. “Malice is presumed.”
Mejorada, who faces five additional libel charges, will serve his sentence at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City./WDJ