A 30-year-old woman who allegedly bashed Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy on Facebook was arrested by the police in Barangay Ibabao, Cordova last Thursday afternoon.
Police identified the suspect as Madelyn Magalos Densing, who is facing a libel case before the Mandaue City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 55.
The arrest was based on the warrant issued by RTC Branch 55 Judge Glenda Go. A team composed of PO3 Renante Marababol, PO2 Noem Rosillosa, and PO1 Roselito Andales served the warrant.
Under the Revised Penal Code, libel is defined as a “public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt” of a person.
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Mayor Sitoy charged Densing with five counts of libel before the Office of the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor in February last year. The suspect was indicted.
“This is a novel case because this is the first time I filed a complaint against a person who maligned me on Facebook,” he said in a phone interview.
Densing allegedly accused the public official of being corrupt and called him a thief on her Facebook account.
She allegedly wrote: “Ang mayor nga kawatan dako ug kurakot (The mayor who is a big thief and who is corrupt)” and “Mao atong mayor nga kurakot (Really, our mayor is corrupt).”
Aside from Mayor Sitoy and his nephew Cordova Municipal Councilor Ximgil Sitoy, Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino and lawyer Fritz Baguio were able to read the messages in the popular social networking site.
Councilor Sitoy also captured the messages allegedly posted by Densing on Facebook.
On Nov. 11, 2013, Mayor Sitoy read messages from Densing that accused him of being corrupt.
Densing allegedly repeated her posting of demeaning messages against Mayor Sitoy on Nov. 15 and Nov. 25.
Mayor Sitoy said the posts were “blatantly libelous.”