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The court sets bail at P48,000
MANILA, Philippines – The Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 93 issued an arrest warrant against veteran showbiz columnist Cristy Fermin, and her co-hosts Rommel Villamor and Wendell Alvarez, due to the cyber libel case filed by actress Bea Alonzo.
According to ABS-CBN News, the case stems from the three separate cyber libel complaints Alonzo filed in May 2024 against Fermin, fellow showbiz columnist Ogie Diaz, and their respective online talk show co-hosts.
The court set bail at P48,000 each for the three respondents.
In her complaint affidavit, Alonzo said she was the victim of false, malicious, and damaging information that stemmed from a so-called “mystery basher,” which was then discussed without factual basis by Fermin and Diaz on air. Alonzo said both talk show hosts and their co-hosts continued to defame her through their vlogs and columns, even mentioning an unproven claim about her not paying the correct tax.
Alonzo’s lawyer, Joey Garcia told ABS-CBN News that the actress chose to pursue legal action for the first time after decades in the entertainment industry.
“She has endured all the defamatory and malicious statements against her character… with silence, dignity, and grace. But there is always a limit — and now is the time for definitive legal action,” Garcia added.
The statements made by Fermin and Diaz were around the time of Alonzo’s public breakup with her former fiancé, actor-model Dominic Roque.
On the same day Alonzo filed her complaint, Diaz posted on social media, saying: “Ayoko nang magpakaplastik. Tulad ng lagi naming hinihirit sa Ogie Diaz Showbiz Update, sila pa rin ang gusto naming magkatuluyan sa ending.”
(“I no longer want to put up false pretenses. Like what we always say on Ogie Diaz Showbiz Update, we still want them to end up together in the end.”)
Also in response to the complaint, Fermin defended the content of her vlogs, saying it covered stories of various public figures, not just Alonzo.
“Bilang pampublikong pigura po sila ay kami naman po ‘yung nagtatawid ng mga balita tungkol sa kanila. Hindi po namin maaaring punahin si Bea Alonzo lamang para kumita ang aming mga vlogs,” Fermin said.
(“Since they are public figures, we are simply sharing news about them. We do not single out Bea Alonzo just to earn from our vlogs.”)
“Mali po ‘yun. Lahat ng mga kwento ay inilalatag po namin at depende na lamang ‘yan sa pagtanggap ng mga personalidad na aming tinatalakay,” she added.
(“That would be wrong. We share all stories, and it is up to the public figures we discuss how they interpret them.”) – Rappler.com
