Metro Manila, Philippines – Veteran journalist and author Philip Lustre Jr. was released on ₱48,000 bail within a day of his arrest on Saturday, Oct. 24, over a cyber libel complaint filed before a Davao court.
Uniformed police officers served the warrant of arrest on Lustre at a restaurant in Quezon City, minutes after a House of Representatives morning news forum concluded.
“I am happy to report, after tirelessly working the entire day, that we secured today the provisional liberty of veteran journalist and writer, Philip Lustre Jr.,” his counsel, Dino de Leon, said in a Facebook post on Saturday evening.
De Leon, who was also a guest at the forum, stepped in as Lustre’s counsel.
The lawyer condemned the move, describing the lawsuit as an attack against members of the press.
“Hanggang may mga lumalaban para sa tama, hinding-hindi mananaig ang mga taong gusto tayong patahimikin, lalong-lalo na ang mga kapatid natin sa media. Hinding-hindi tayo pasisiil,” De Leon said.
(Translation: As long as people fight for what is right, those who want to silence us will never prevail, especially our colleagues in the media. We will never yield.)
On Sunday, Lustre confirmed in a social media post that the warrant did not name a complainant.
“I was told that details were contained in the separate information sheet that was not included in any charge sheet. Neither did I see any information sheet. There was no preliminary investigation either,” he said.
Lustre asserted that the incident was “definitely a special operation against me,” arguing that the apparent goal was to detain him over the weekend so he could not post bail.
“There was [a procedural] flaw in the process. That was how deep the Davao Group [does] their thing,” he added.
Lustre thanked De Leon and his legal team for securing his temporary release, as well as media colleagues who pooled money for his bail within an hour.
The 72-year-old journalist authored the book “Kill, Kill, Kill,” which documents the violent anti-illegal drug campaign under the Duterte administration.
