MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved the filing of multiple criminal Informations against the so-called “18 Maleta Boys” and lawyer Levito D. Baligod, paving the way for the cases to proceed before the courts.
Acting through the Office of the Prosecutor General, the DOJ approved the recommendations of the investigating prosecution panels after reviewing the evidence presented during the preliminary investigation.
The complaints stemmed from the execution and circulation of a joint sworn statement, as well as related press conferences, media interviews, social media posts, and other online publications.
Under the approved resolutions, the “18 Maleta Boys” will face 10 separate Informations.
These include six counts of cyber libel under Section 4(c)(4) of Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
They will also be charged with four counts of perjury.
Baligod will be named as co-accused with the group in several of the Informations.
He will also face a separate Information for one count of cyber libel under the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
The DOJ said the Informations will be filed before the appropriate courts.
However, it noted that other complaints covered by the resolutions were dismissed for lack of prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction.
