Lawyer and broadcaster Ferdinand Topacio will not face trial over on-air remarks that actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith argued had defamed and demeaned her, after Makati City prosecutors found the evidence too thin to move the case forward.
The Office of the City Prosecutor of Makati resolved that no probable cause existed to indict Topacio on any of the three counts brought against him: cyberlibel, cyber unjust vexation, and gender-based online sexual harassment. The joint resolution carries a date of July 1, 2026, and covers docket numbers NPS No. XV-05-INV-26C-1611 to 1613.
At the center of the dispute were statements Topacio delivered on March 5 during his DWIZ radio show “YES YES YO TOPACIO,” which also streamed online. Curtis-Smith contended that the broadcaster’s words were degrading and damaged how the public viewed her.
On the libel count, prosecutors concluded that the actress had not shown Topacio acted with actual malice, knowingly spread falsehoods, or spoke with reckless disregard for whether his claims were true. “At most, respondent’s statements may have been sharp, insulting, or offensive. However, offensiveness alone does not equate to actual malice,” the resolution read.
The harassment complaint, filed under Republic Act 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act, also collapsed for want of a prima facie case. The resolution said the evidence failed to show that Topacio’s statements terrorized, intimidated, or were intended to inflict psychological harm on Curtis-Smith as required under the law. Prosecutors reached a similar conclusion on the cyber unjust vexation charge, ruling that Topacio’s conduct did not satisfy the elements of that offense.
The complaints trace back to a wider controversy that erupted earlier this year. Topacio had used his program to defend Quezon City Representative Jesus “Bong” Suntay, who drew condemnation after telling a March 3 House committee hearing on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte that he had imagined a sexual scenario involving actress Anne Curtis, Curtis-Smith’s sister. On air, Topacio questioned why performers such as Curtis-Smith post swimwear photographs on social media, suggesting the images were meant to draw desire and attention rather than serve as art.
The fallout has extended well beyond the prosecutor’s office. On June 3, the Supreme Court moved on its own initiative to open disbarment proceedings against both Topacio and Suntay, folding the matters into Administrative Case No. 14934 and directing each to explain within a non-extendible 10-day window why he should not be stripped of his license. The high court’s action, made public on July 8, cited a letter from Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and Associate Justices Amy Lazaro-Javier and Maria Filomena Singh, along with a petition from the UP Women Lawyers’ Circle seeking a probe into alleged gender-based misconduct.
Topacio has shown no sign of retreating from his statements. “I stand by what I have said. I have never been a hypocrite. I mean what I say, and I say what I mean,” he said.
