Hayden Kho's mother posts bail in libel case

MANILA, Philippines - Irene Kho, mother of former celebrity doctor Hayden Kho Jr., posted bail yesterday in connection with a libel case filed against her by actress Katrina Halili.

Irene’s lawyer, Jose Paolo Patajo, posted bail for her — P10,000 for each of the two counts of libel, as set by the court — before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 85.

Her camp earlier filed a motion to suspend the effectivity of the arrest warrant pending their motion for re-determination of probable cause, but they still posted bail without undermining the earlier motion.

“We believe it (posting bail) is the most prudent thing to do for the protection of our client,” Patajo told reporters yesterday.

The charges were based on Irene’s statements in separate television interviews in May last year during which she accused Halili of being a drug addict and the one who allegedly introduced her son to drug use. Halili and Hayden, her former lover, figured in a sex video scandal last year.

In August last year, Quezon City Assistant City Prosecutor Rafael Villordon junked the complaint against Irene, saying he did not find basis to charge her in court.

Halili challenged this and filed a petition for review with the Department of Justice and then Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera reversed the ruling last March and ordered Irene’s indictment, saying her statements were deemed “libelous, malicious and uttered by the respondent to publicly humiliate and ridicule complainant.”

Quezon City Assistant City Prosecutor Corazon Romano filed on April 20 two separate cases against Irene before the court and these were consolidated into one case and raffled off to RTC Branch 85.

The former celebrity doctor, who had been stripped of his medical license by the Professional Regulatory Commission, is facing criminal charges for allegedly videotaping his sexual encounters with a number of female partners, including Halili.

He posted a P20,000 bail before Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 159 in connection with the case.