An official connected with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is now confronting two counts of cyberlibel over allegations that he defamed former Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas.
A warrant of arrest was issued by Judge Judita Patriarca Nafarrete of the Iloilo City Regional Trial Court Branch 38 against Jose Nereo Lujan. He serves as a member of the Executive Council of the NCCA National Committee on Monuments and Sites (NCMS). At the same time, he heads the Public Information and Community Affairs Office (PICAO) of the Iloilo Provincial Government.
Following the issuance of the warrant, Lujan surrendered to authorities. He subsequently posted bail amounting to P48,000 for each of the two cyberlibel charges to obtain temporary liberty.
Prosecutor Caryl Kate Fabella-Genova III earlier dismissed Lujan’s motion for reconsideration and recommended the filing of cyberlibel charges against the NCCA official, stressing that there was sufficient evidence to hold him accountable for his earlier Facebook posts against Treñas.
The case stemmed from the eight counts of cyberlibel filed by Treñas against Lujan for allegedly damaging his reputation.
In her decision, Fabella-Genova said that Lujan’s posts were allegedly intended to embarrass Treñas by claiming that the former mayor was a leading traffic violator, supposedly citing an upset stomach as an excuse to get out of a gridlock.
The prosecutor also mentioned another post by Lujan claiming that Treñas could not go to heaven, accompanied by a picture of the mayor.
Of the eight counts, only two were approved by Judge Nafarrete for the issuance of warrants of arrest.
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