THE wife of a Quezon City fiscal will not be spared from being investigated over the spread on the Internet of the illicit sex video of her husband with another lawyer, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Sunday.
De Lima said the prosecutor has filed counter-criminal charges against the fiscal's wife for violation of Republic Act 9995 (anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act) last week, following the filing of a slew of charges against the lawyer for grave coercion, grave threats and violation of Republic Act 9262 (anti-violence against women and their children act).
The complaints were filed before the Office of the Prosecutors in Quezon City, but were forwarded to the Department of Justice (DOJ) last week.
A separate disbarment complaint was filed against the fiscal before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
In her complaint, the wife cited as evidence the sex video of the fiscal and the alleged mistress, which she got from her husband's laptop.
De Lima said even if the wife may have valid causes in filing a case against her philandering husband, she could still be criminally held if it would be found that she caused the uploading of the sex video of her husband on the Internet.
The DOJ has yet to formally name the prosecutor involved, his wife and his alleged mistress, said to be one of the Top 10 of the 2008 Bar and said to have high connections in the judiciary.
De Lima said the complaint against the fiscal would be subjected to a preliminary investigation, but it would also enable the DOJ to determine whether or not the wife may also be held liable RA 9995.
"(But) the central issue is the merit and fitness of a person to function as a public prosecutor. That means living up to the highest standards of integrity," she said in a text message.
She said the case filed by the fiscal against his wife is only a "collateral issue" in the case that could very well justify the need to address abuses in online social media.
De Lima is a proponent of RA 10175 (Anti-cybercrime law), which the Supreme Court shot down with a temporary restraining order last month.
"The sex video is a collateral issue that demonstrates the emergence of the use and abuse of technology. It demonstrates emergence of the use and abuse of technology," she added.
Though the video was taken last year when the fiscal and the alleged mistress were still with the Public Attorney's Office and prior to his appointment as assistant city prosecutor last October, it was only recently discovered on the Internet.
The 36-minute video, which was posted in a pornographic website, showed the fiscal during a sexual act with another woman. The video appeared to have been recorded through a laptop camera.
The woman in the video was also said to be a daughter of a Court of Appeals justice, and who has since flown to Canada to escape the controversy.
Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, who heads the DOJ's prosecutorial arm who supervises all fiscals in the country, said the fiscal involved already took a leave of absence, but an administrative investigation would still proceed and sanctions may still be imposed on the fiscal, depending on results of the preliminary investigation. (JCV/Sunnex)
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