- Petitioner
- Wilbert Tolentino
- Respondent
- People
- Citation
- G.R. No. 240310
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- First Division
- Decided
- August 6, 2018
Petition for certiorari challenging RTC orders denying motion to quash in cyberlibel case under RA 10175
Summary
The Supreme Court dismissed Wilbert Tolentino's petition for certiorari challenging Regional Trial Court orders that denied his motion to quash a cyberlibel information under RA 10175. The case arose from Tolentino's 2015 Facebook post, for which Eva Rose Pua filed a complaint in 2017. The SC ruled the petition was procedurally defective for failing to state the receipt date of the assailed order and for not showing grave abuse of discretion. Substantively, the SC clarified that cyberlibel under RA 10175 now carries an afflictive penalty prescribing in 15 years, making the complaint timely. The Court also affirmed that RTC Quezon City had proper jurisdiction since the complainant resided there. The constitutional requirement for clearly stated facts and law was held inapplicable to interlocutory orders like motion to quash denials.