Kapunan convicted of unjust vexation

MANILA, Philippines — A Manila court has sentenced lawyer Lorna Kapunan to 30 days in prison after she was found guilty of unjust vexation over statements she made against University of Santo Tomas Law dean Nilo Divina in connection with the hazing death of UST student Horacio “Atio” Castillo III in 2017.

In a decision dated July 24, Judge Cicero Jurado Jr. of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 11 ordered Kapunan to pay Divina P2 million in damages on top of P500,000 in attorney’s fees.

Jurado set aside for grave abuse of discretion Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 17 Judge Karla Funtila-Abugan’s earlier ruling that acquitted Kapunan.

Jurado said the lower court’s decision was “erroneous and obviously tainted with discrepancy” when it disregarded the prosecution’s evidence.

The case stemmed from a television interview of Kapunan, who represented the Castillo family, in October 2017.

In his complaint, Divina said Kapunan maliciously accused him of having recruited Castillo to join the Aegis Juris fraternity.

He said Kapunan also called him an “obstructionist to justice” for coddling the fraternity members who took part in the hazing of Castillo in Sampaloc, Manila.

In March last year, the Department of Justice dismissed the complaints for libel and cyberlibel filed by Divina against Kapunan. But the DOJ indicted her for slander.