MANILA, Philippines – Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. filed cyber libel complaints Thursday, March 19, against lawyer Levito Baligod, resigned congressman Zaldy Co over what the Cabinet official called a “sustained campaign of defamatory attacks.”

Baligod is the lawyer of the 18 supposed former Marines who alleged that they delivered kickbacks to several government officials, including Tiu Laurel.

In his complaint filed before the Makati City Prosecutors Office, Tiu Laurel said Baligod repeatedly made allegations of corruption within the agency through online platforms.

“These statements are false, malicious, and calculated to dishonor and discredit,” Tiu Laurel said as quoted in a press statement on Thursday. “They not only target my personal integrity but also undermine public confidence in the agency.”

The affidavit had also accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former House speaker Martin Romualdez, as well as Kabataan Representative Raoul Manuel, former senator Sonny Trillanes, and investigators from the International Criminal Court (ICC), as some of the recipients of the cash deliveries.

Tiu Laurel filed a separate cyber liber complaint against Co stemming from latter’s that First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos intervened in DA matters. He had also alleged that the First Lady’s brother, Martin Araneta, was involved in the onion cartel.

Co, former House appropriations committee chair, has been implicated in the multibillion-peso flood control corruption scandal.

Trillanes and ML Representative Leila de Lima earlier filed cyber libel complaints against the 18 “former Marines” and Baligod in relation to the allegation.

– Rappler.com