The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the libel and unjust vexation cases filed by actress Sarah Lahbati against GMA Films President Anna Teresa Gozon-Abrogar due to lack of probable cause.
To date, all four cases filed by the Kapuso actress against Abrogar have been dismissed for lack of merit.
The complaints stemmed from Lahbati’s allegations that Abrogar made malicious statements against her which aired on GMA’s primetime newscast, 24 Oras on July 19, 2013, and on GMA’s showbiz-oriented talk program, Startalk on July 20, 2013.
In her February 12, 2014 Resolution, Assistant City Prosecutor Nicazio Rosales found that said statements were mere reactions to the acts made by Lahbati after she had filed the criminal complaints against Abrogar.
“The complainant should not be onion skinned when she heard or read a reaction or comment to what she did,” stated Rosales.
Lahbati alleged that Abrogar made the malicious statements to make it appear that she had no intention of filing the cases despite the fact that she had already subscribed to them, and that the act was attended with malice. Lahbati further claimed that Abrogar hit her below the belt by saying that Lahbati and her lawyer were being "disrespectful to the media and to the judiciary," which was published in various publications and social networking sites.
“Respondent is not motivated with ill-will or spite but in response to duty, that is, her duty to defend herself. A careful reading of the alleged defamatory imputation readily shows that there is nothing offensive in the language used by the respondent. It is only a truthful expression of her opinion regarding the filing of the criminal case filed against her,” Rosales also said.