AGRICULTURE Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Thursday filed cyber libel cases against dismissed congressman Zaldy Co and lawyer Levito Baligod at the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office.
Tiu Laurel said the malicious claims against him and the Department of Agriculture (DA) first surfaced during the press conference of 18 people who identified themselves as former Marines who had delivered huge amounts on Co’s orders to public officials as kickbacks.
They said they used to fetch suitcases filled with money at a house in South Forbes Park in Makati City owned by Tiu Laurel, and linked him to ghost irrigation projects and other supposed irregularities.
Tiu Laurel said Baligod, the ex-Marines’ lawyer, repeatedly claimed there were anomalies in the DA, including diversion and misappropriation of public funds.
Co, through videos posted on his social media pages, alleged the existence of a rice cartel in the country, as well as discrepancies in onion and sugar importations.
He said Tiu Laurel had asked Congress to stop hearings investigating high rice prices after showing a confidential report that said first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos was behind rice importers and was involved in rice smuggling.
Co also implicated Martin Araneta, the first lady’s brother, in onion smuggling.
He claimed there were collections for sugar importations at the Bureau of Customs, which amounted to P9 billion. He said the imports were distributed among five companies that control the prices of sugar in the market.
Tiu Laurel denied the allegations of the ex-Marines, saying he does not know any of them, and he has not lived in Forbes Park since 2018.
He said he believes the attacks against him may be politically-motivated.
“This feels like a distraction from the work I need to do as Agriculture Secretary, especially during these challenging times. But I will no longer allow myself to be their punching bag,” Tiu Laurel said.
He said the respondents’ statements were made with malicious intent, and therefore constitutes cyber libel.
A cyber libel conviction could result in imprisonment of up to 12 years or fines of up to P1.5 million.
“My call to the 18 [ex-Marines,] please tell the truth already so that you would no longer be used by whoever is behind that,” said Tiu Laurel. “I am only asking for the truth.”
