Negros Occidental broadcaster found guilty of cyber libel

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'Such a conviction will never dwarf me as a broadcaster. Rather, it will inspire me to tackle issues of public interest [on-air], particularly on corruption and illegal drugs,' says Negros Occidental broadcaster Jun Capulot

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – A Negrense broadcaster was sentenced to up to two years after he was found guilty by an Iloilo City court of three counts of cyber libel.

On Thursday, May 14, Iloilo City Regional Trial Court Branch 39 Presiding Judge Victorino Maniba Jr. rendered its guilty verdict on Salvador “Jun” Capulot Jr., an anchor of K5 News FM in Iloilo City.

Capulot was anchoring for Radio Mindanao Network-Iloilo when the case was filed in 2021.

The case stemmed from Capulot’s supposed tarnishing of businessman Shariko Salcedo’s reputation during his RMN Patrol 774 program three times in 2020. Capulot had accused Salcedo of being a favored contractor of the Guimaras provincial government.

Aside from imprisonment, Capulot was also ordered to pay a P250,000 fine for moral damages, and an attorney’s fee of P50,000.

In an interview with Rappler on Saturday, May 17, Capulot insisted his innocence and shared his plan to file a motion for reconsideration.

“Such a conviction will never dwarf me as a broadcaster. Rather, it will inspire me to tackle issues of public interest [on-air], particularly on corruption and illegal drugs,” he said.

The Iloilo Media-Citizens Council (IMCC) said in a statement that Capulot’s conviction showed the perennial tension between press freedom and the penal nature of Philippine libel laws.

“We reiterate the long-standing call of the media community to decriminalize, not abrogate, libel. The intent is not to shield erring journalists from accountability but to uphold the constitutional guarantee of free expression while preventing the chilling effect of criminal sanctions on legitimate and critical journalism,” the IMCC wrote.

Capulot ran in the 2025 midterm elections for Iloilo city councilor under lawmaker Jam-Jam Baronda’s Team Sulong Gugma but lost. He also failed to thwart Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas’ reelection bid in 2022. – Rappler.com