Bail of P20,000 per count stands as the condition for lawyer Levi Baligod to remain free while facing two cyberlibel charges, following an arrest order handed down by a Makati City court.
The Regional Trial Court Branch 148 directed police to take Baligod into custody so he can respond to the charges, according to a copy of the order that circulated Monday evening. Acting Presiding Judge Antonio Ray Abelardo Ortiguera signed the warrant on June 15. The charges fall under Section 4(c)(4) of the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
The complaint traces back to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., who accused Baligod of tying him to alleged kickbacks connected to flood control projects. Baligod serves as counsel for 18 people who identify themselves as former Marines and who have claimed they acted as couriers moving cash to officials.
Baligod disputed how the case advanced against him. He said he obtained a copy of the warrant only on Monday and argued that he never had a fair chance to defend himself because prosecutors were working from the wrong address. As a result, he said, no subpoena reached him and he could not file a counter-affidavit.
“I only received a copy of the warrant of arrest today,” Baligod said, adding that the wrong address was supplied to the prosecutor’s office on purpose.
The court order also instructed arresting officers to comply with Supreme Court rules requiring body-worn cameras or other recording devices during the arrest.
Laurel filed the cyberlibel complaint at the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office earlier this year, one of two such complaints he lodged that also named former lawmaker Elizaldy Co. In his account, Baligod had repeatedly alleged wrongdoing within the Department of Agriculture through press briefings and social media posts. The agriculture chief has separately denied that a Forbes Park property of his served as a meeting point for the supposed cash transfers, saying he moved out of that home in 2018 and does not know the 18 individuals.
