Lawyer faces cybercrime rap for ‘mocking’ Negrense poll exec

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

A lawyer is facing criminal charges for cyber unjust vexation filed by Commission on Elections Commissioner Rowena Guanzon who hails from Negros Occidental.

The case against lawyer Ferdinand Topacio filed in August 2020 was triggered by social media posts where he allegedly “mocked” Guanzon and her mother for having Alzheimer’s disease.

Guanzon initially filed the unjust vexation case with the Bacolod City Prosecutor’s Office but Topacio sought for the inhibition of the said office for perceived partiality since the complainant is from Negros Occidental.

The Regional State Prosecutor’s Office in Western then reassigned the case to the Iloilo CPO which then raffled the complaint to Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Adri Anne T.M. Espanola.

In a 7-page resolution issued on May 12, 2021, Espanola recommended the filing of the charges for cyber unjust vexation under Article 287, paragraph 2 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Section 73 of Republic Act 10951 and in relation to Section 6 of RA 10175 (The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Iloilo City Prosecutor Peter Baliao approved the resolution which will be forwarded to the Regional State Prosecutor’s Office for its action.

Guanzon even shared the dispositive portion of the resolution on her Twitter account with the caption: “Guess who will get a warrant of arrest soon.”

The whole episode stemmed from an exchange between Guanzon and Topacio on the murder case of beauty queen Ruby Rose Barrameda.

Guanzon was the prosecutor in that case while Topacio defended Lope Jimenez, who was acquitted of murder in 2019 by a Malabon court.

One of their Twitter exchanges showed Topacio implying that Guanzon must have had “early onset Alzheimer’s” for not recalling events in the murder case.

Guanzon took offense saying her mother passed away after a long bout with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with the disease—those with the late-onset type—symptoms first appear in their mid-60s.

Daily Guardian is still trying to reach Topacio.