Manases Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, was the complainant in the cyberlibel case that led to the October 24, 2026 arrest of veteran journalist Philip Lustre Jr. in Quezon City, according to a court document his lawyer provided.
Police arrested Lustre, 72, on Saturday over a complaint from a still unidentified complainant. By Monday, October 26, the name was out.
A March 6 Facebook post and a P300 million question
The case stems from a Facebook post dated March 6, 2026, published through an account named Philip Jr Lustre,
according to the court document shared by lawyer Dino De Leon. The post asked whether Carpio had put up P300 million for a Marines operation, listing P150 million to “Mike,” P50 million to “Levi” and P5 million each to 18 Marines.
The court information says the statement, in its plain and ordinary meaning, directly imputes the allegation on Atty. Manases R. Carpio. Lustre confirmed to the Inquirer by phone that Carpio was the complainant. These are allegations; no court has ruled on them.
A warrant dated October 2, served on a Saturday
Judge Retrina Fuentes of Davao City Regional Trial Court Branch 10 issued the warrant on October 2, per Rappler. Per the Inquirer, it named the People of the Philippines
as plaintiff. It cited Section 4(c)(4) of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which penalizes online libel.
Officers from the Quezon City Police District’s Kamuning Station 10 served it minutes after the Saturday News Forum ended at Dapo Restaurant, GMA Network reported. They read him his Miranda rights. De Leon, who was attending the forum, took on his defense on the spot.
Lustre said he knew of no complaint against him. His lawyers’ firm, DARGON Law, said no subpoena or notice reached him at the preliminary investigation stage, so he never had a chance to present his side before the warrant issued. On the day, the firm said it did not know the case particulars or the complainant because the court was closed for the weekend.
“A special operation”: Lustre and De Leon on the irregularities
Writing on social media Sunday, Lustre called his arrest “definitely a special operation against me,” the, Inquirer reported. He also claimed a procedural flaw
in the process.
De Leon told the Inquirer the arresting officers gave no information when serving the warrant. He also pointed to the address on it: the Inquirer’s Makati office, where Lustre is a contributor, not an employee.
Lustre told the Manila Times he suspected the case was political harassment initiated by the camp of Vice President Duterte. The sources show only his suspicion; none document who, if anyone, directed the filing beyond the named complainant.
P48,000 bail, a motion to quash, and a reopened investigation
Bail was set at P48,000. The Manila Times reported his release Saturday night; Rappler said Lustre posted that his media friends passed the hat to raise the money. Earlier, De Leon had cited delays in obtaining certified copies of the information and arrest order from the Davao court.
The defense plans a motion to quash and will seek to reopen the preliminary investigation so Lustre can answer the accusation. Lustre said I will fight this. I will not back down.
On Monday De Leon told the Inquirer the team would confront this case properly
and reserves the right to file counter-charges.
Press groups, the task force and a separate GMA complaint
The National Press Club said legal processes must never be used to silence critical voices. The Presidential Task Force on Media Security urged prompt handling of bail with consideration for his age. Later it said it takes serious note of concerns that libel laws have been weaponized against critical voices. The Capampangan In Media Inc. also demanded due process.
Separately, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte filed cyber libel complaints on October 23 against GMA Network executives and journalists over a report on bribery claims. They are a different case from Lustre’s, whose complainant is Carpio, and the sources do not link the two.
Lustre has said a new book on Vice President Duterte’s impeachment trial is due by December.