THE Cebu City government Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, filed a formal complaint before the Office of the City Prosecutor against two individuals allegedly operating the contested Facebook page “Cebu Updates.”
Estela Grace Rosit, current head of the Cebu City Public Information Office (PIO), represented the City Government in filing charges of violation of section of illegal access under Section 4(a), paragraph 1, and computer-related identity theft under Section 4(b), paragraph 3 of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 against a certain Erwin dela Cerna and Christian Tura.
Rosit was accompanied by lawyers from the Cebu City Legal Office, the office in charge of prosecuting cases on behalf of the City Government.
The City Government asserts that the Cebu Updates page is its property, having formerly served as the official PIO page of the City Government, and it is bent on regaining ownership of the page.
SunStar Cebu tried to get the side of Dela Cerna and Tura, but they had yet to provide a statement as of press time. SunStar Cebu also messaged the Cebu Updates Facebook page but to no avail.
The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 defines computer-related identity theft as the “intentional acquisition, use, misuse, transfer, possession, alteration or deletion of identifying information belonging to another, whether natural or juridical, without right.”
The violation of illegal access and computer-related identity theft under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 entails a penalty of a fine of at least P200,000 or a maximum amount commensurate to the case and imprisonment.
The Office of the City Prosecutor will still determine if there is probable cause in the formal complaint, but the City Legal Office said it hopes that the charge will not be dismissed.
Lawyer Kristine Centino of the Cebu City Legal Office said the purpose of the filing of the formal complaint is to prosecute those who illegally accessed the page.
“Ang tumong ani is ma-punish gyud ang kon kinsa to ang nakasala nga naka-access illegally sa property sa Cebu City Government because we are establishing that this is really a property of the Cebu City government, and when you use a property of the Cebu City Government without permission, you are essentially illegally accessing the property,” she said.
“The goal is to prosecute those who are the offenders and also if possible, mabawi ang (regain possession of the) page because the rightful owner is really the Cebu City Government,” she added.
Rosit added that the Facebook page created by the City Government is not for personal benefit.
“Ang purpose gyud nako is para mabawi pod nato ang official nga Facebook page sa City kay sa City man gyud na siya. Dili man na siya for private nga benefit and also, gigamit na man gud siya for bashing sa atong mga public officials, especially the mayor,” she said.
(My purpose is to regain possession of the official Facebook page of the City because it is the City that owns it. That is not for private benefit, and also, it is already being used for bashing our public officials, especially the mayor.)
Although he has yet to elaborate on the extent of his participation in the Cebu Updates page, Erwin dela Cerna has hosted a program called “Ratsada” on the Cebu Updates page, based on the posts that can be seen on the page’s timeline.
Due diligence
Shana Alexandra Perez, attesting lawyer on behalf of the City Legal Office, told SunStar Cebu that they tapped the Anti-Cybercrime Unit of the police for the investigation.
She said they started conducting due diligence around 2022 and they made sure that “everything was well-researched and investigated.”
She said the respondents’ involvement in the alleged illegal access of the page had been tracked by the Anti-Cybercrime Unit.
“The proofs are attached in our judicial complaint affidavit; however, as of the moment, we cannot disclose any information for the protection and confidentiality of the case,” she said.
Centino also said they are in the process of contacting Meta, formerly Facebook, to contest the page’s ownership.
Asked whether there would be other respondents to the case and if it would involve former public officials, Perez said the evidence gathered by the police is only for the two respondents so far and “we cannot prosecute the others without evidence to support the case.”
It was in July 2023 when then city attorney Jerone Castillo and City Administrator Collin Rosell called upon the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Cebu to investigate Cebu Updates.
“We are calling upon all authorities, including the PNP, the cybercrime (unit), including the NBI, as well as all personnel in the City Legal Office, to act on the matter and do what is proper to recover the property of the City,” Rosell said during a press conference on July 21, 2023.
On July 22, 2023, Cebu Updates replied in a social media post that it is “merely a messenger for the people,” and its goal is to “bridge the gap between you (the people) and our city officials, ensuring transparency and accountability in governance.”
“To Atty. Jerone Castillo, your attempts to deter our work will not hinder us from fulfilling our duty to the public. Cebu Updates will continue to be steadfast in providing reliable and impartial news for the people,” it said in the social media post.
Cebu Updates
SunStar Cebu has yet to obtain the attachment of the formal complaint; however, other sources privy to the information said the complaint includes signed affidavits of former PIO head Carlo Dugaduga and Cerwin Eviota, consultant to Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.
A quick visit to Cebu Update’s Page Transparency section reveals the history of its name changes, tracing to its original identity as the Cebu City Public Information Office Page.
It was in 2012 when the PIO during the first term of Mayor Rama created the “Cebu City Public Information Office” (Cebu Updates’ Facebook page name in 2012). Cebu Updates’ page transparency section reflects subsequent name changes, coinciding with transitions from Mayor Rama to former mayor Tomas Osmena (2016-2019) and later during the tenure of the late mayor Edgardo Labella (July 1, 2019- Nov. 19, 2021).
It changed its name to Cebu Updates only on Jan. 5, 2022, months after the death of former mayor Labella in November 2021.
Since the PIO position is a coterminous position, Rama also appointed his own PIO officer.
In an interview last Jan. 8, Eviota claimed that a “proper turnover” of the page occurred when Rama left office after losing to Osmeña in 2016. That same year, the name of the Facebook page was changed to “City of Cebu, Public Information Office.”
Malou Tabar, who served as PIO midway through former mayor Osmeña’s term in 2017, confirmed the succession in managing the former PIO page.
Although she could not locate the current status of the page, she said she handed it over to the appointed PIO after her during the Labella administration.
“I don’t know who really created the page, but maybe it was during the time of former mayor Mike (Rama), but I’m not really sure. Cerwin also asked me about the former PIO page. I also told him that I turned it over to Razel (Cuizon),” Tabar said.
Razel Cuizon headed the PIO during the time of Labella.