Capiz board member del Rosario expects cyber libel dismissal

ROXAS CITY, Capiz — Capiz Provincial Board Member Jose Fulgencio “Pepe” del Rosario expressed confidence that the cyber libel case filed against him would be dismissed, alleging that the complaint was part of political harassment following his decision to switch political alliances.

“I’m 95 percent confident that the cyber libel will be dismissed,” del Rosario said during an interview with the media Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 27, after the Provincial Board’s regular session at the Provincial Capitol.

Del Rosario said his legal team was handling the case and maintained that the complaint lacked merit.

The board member said he had already posted bail and secured an order of release while his legal team continued to handle the case through the courts.

“I am concerned that I am being subjected to political harassment,” he said, linking the alleged attacks against him to his decision to switch political alliances.

In an order dated Oct. 17, 2026, Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 112 Presiding Judge Geoffrey H. Llarena directed the Pasay City Jail to release del Rosario after approving his cash bond, provided he was not being held in connection with another case.

Del Rosario posted bail of PHP 48,000 following the issuance of an arrest warrant against him.

The case involves an alleged violation of the Revised Penal Code’s libel provisions in relation to Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, and is docketed as Criminal Case No. 26-98839.

The arrest warrant was issued by Iloilo City Regional Trial Court Branch 38 on Oct. 12, 2026, over an allegedly libelous Facebook post that has since been deleted.

The complaint stemmed from an encounter at a Starbucks branch in Iloilo City on Dec. 7, 2025, involving del Rosario and Mary Ann Gumban, dean of PHINMA University of Iloilo and former vice chancellor for administration of the University of the Philippines Visayas.

According to published accounts of the complaint, Gumban alleged that del Rosario posted derogatory remarks about her appearance, manner of speaking and social standing following a disagreement over an alleged attempt to cut in line at the coffee shop.

Del Rosario disputed Gumban’s account and maintained that his Facebook post was a form of fair commentary on public behavior.

The post did not mention any names, but the accompanying photograph showed a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) official, his wife and another person.

The official was identified as Renato Gumban, a retired police general and former police chief in the Negros Island Region and Iloilo province who now serves as PDEA deputy director general for operations.

His wife, Mary Ann Gumban, previously served as vice chancellor for administration at UP Visayas and is now dean of the College of Accountancy at PHINMA University of Iloilo.

The Iloilo City Prosecutor’s Office found probable cause to file the cyber libel charge, citing the complainant’s identifiability in the photograph despite the absence of her name in the post.

Del Rosario, however, maintained that he would contest the complaint through the judicial process.

The case remains pending before the court, which has yet to determine del Rosario’s guilt or innocence.