Ramasola decries ‘highly irregular’ arrest warrant

NOTE: THIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE BOHOL CHRONICLE’S SUNDAY PRINT EDITION.

Social media influencer Willy Ramasola could have been detained since Wednesday had he failed to elude attempts to apprehend him on account of a warrant of arrest issued by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) as a result of the cyber-libel case filed against him by First District Rep. Edgar Chatto.

“Shocked and surprised” by how fast the warrant was issued considering he and his lawyers were still preparing to file a motion for reconsideration on the finding of probable cause for the crime of cyber-libel by the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office (QCPO), Ramasola said what happened to him was “like a scene from a suspense thriller action movie.”

“Thanks to Chatto’s attempt to have me detained over the weekend.”

Ramasola said the issuance of the warrant of arrest was “very, very fast” despite the fact that he only received a copy of the resolution from the QCPO Thursday last week which would have allowed him to file a motion for reconsideration (MR) within 15 days, or until January 19, 2024.

But even the filing of an MR before the prosecutor is also being deprived of Ramasola as the case has now been elevated in court. In fact, Presiding Judge Maria Zorayda Zabat Tuazon of RTC Branch 90 already set the case for arraignment on February 9, 2024.

The case is now entitled, “People of the Philippines vs. Emmanuel Ramasola a.k.a. Willy Ramasola,”and docketed as Criminal Case Nos. R-QZN-23-11537-CR up to 11539-CR.

To recall, in a 27-page Resolution dated September 15, 2023, the QCPO indicted Ramasola on 3 counts of cyber-libel and dismissed 18 out of the 21 counts filed by Chatto.

A copy of the resolution was received by Ramasola on January 4, 2024.

NBI, CIDG TO SERVE ARREST WARRANT

As early as Wednesday, Ramasola received a tip from his contacts in law enforcement that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) have been requested to conduct a “special operation” to serve his warrant of arrest.

But Ramasola and his lawyers never expected that a warrant has really been issued as they have yet to file an MR and had 15 days to do so from January 4, which was the date of receipt of the resolution, or up to January 19, 2024, in accordance with the rules. And therefore technically, the case would still have been pending before the QCPO.

“That’s why during radio interviews I said we will file an MR because normally that is the process. But I was surprised that a warrant was issued, and I was lucky enough to be informed about it on Wednesday,” Ramasola bared.

According to Ramasola, the prosecutor apparently did not wait for the MR and instead filed the Information before the Quezon City RTC charging him for 3 counts of cyber-libel.

“But what was most surprising about it was how fast the entire process transpired taking into consideration the usual period of time it would have taken if it were an ordinary case involving ordinary citizens, but this case was apparently railroaded by some unseen hands who had connections in the judiciary,” Ramasola stressed.

Ramasola’s lawyer explained to the Chronicle that, normally, after a respondent of a case receives a resolution of the prosecutor and the ruling therein is adverse to him, said resolution can be appealed through an MR within a period of 15 days from receipt of said resolution.

When the MR is filed within the prescribed time, it will be resolved by the prosecutor by either denying it or reversing the preceding ruling and after which issue another resolution in favor of the respondent. It is only in the event that the MR is denied that the prosecutor may proceed with the filling of an Information of the criminal offense before the court, in this case, at the Quezon City RTC.

Upon receipt at the RTC, the case is then set for raffle to determine which Branch will handle the case. It is only at this point that a warrant of arrest may be issued by the judge who presides over the particular RTC branch where the case was raffled to.

According to Ramasola’s lawyer, based on experience, the entire process could take several weeks and even more than a month.

Ramasola said the filing of the Information against him before the RTC was not in accordance with established court rules, as he was basically denied the right to file an MR before the QCPO.

“It appears the process may have been fast-tracked,” he said.

NOT PREPARED FOR ARREST WARRANT

Ramasola admitted he was not yet preparing for the possibility of posting bail to foil an arrest warrant as he and his lawyers were still preparing for the filing of an MR.

He said one of his lawyers sent him the draft MR last Monday and another lawyer sent his draft Tuesday.

“We were supposed to review and consolidate because I am hands on with these legal matters. But suddenly we needed to shift our efforts to preparing for bail process,” Ramasola said.

He said not a single requirement for processing his bail was ready because it caught him and his lawyers by surprise.

“In the first place, we had no copy of the information that was filed in court. No copy of the warrant. No barangay clearance. No pictures [mugshots]. No prepared motion to bail. Many items were not ready,” Ramasola bared.

It was only at the time when he learned that NBI and CIDG agents were already trying to track him down to serve the warrant of arrest, that he and his lawyers “immediately started securing the documents and producing the requirements.”

“At the same time we filed a motion to reduce the amount of bail.”

Ramasola said he had to be ready with the amount of the bail even though there was no decision yet on his motion to post bail and reduce the amount of bail.

POLICE STATIONED AT CONDO AND OFFICE

According to Ramasola, he “had to be on the move always” after being informed that police were already posted at his condominium unit and at his office.

Ramasola also checked in at a hotel where he temporarily slept.

“I no longer slept at home, and I presided meetings with my staff at a mall. I cannot surrender because my requirements for posting bail were not yet complete,” he said.

The court’s decision to allow posting of reduced bail was released on Thursday. However, the time to process the bail was not enough as it was already mid-afternoon, so his lawyers had to get everything done the next day, Friday. Again, he had to stay at the hotel.

On Friday, Ramasola said that when he checked out from the hotel, he noticed men who looked like policemen or agents at the lobby.

“I felt they found me, and it was just a matter of time that they will close in on me and make an arrest.”

But Ramasola said that on that day, the posting of bail was completed despite some issues on some of his requirements.

Before Ramasola went to court to present himself as part of the process of posting bail, he dropped by the Santo Domingo church and when he came out, he was able to confirm that police and agents were trailing him all the way to the Quezon City Hall of Justice.

Arriving in court, Ramasola immediately went to sign and put his fingerprints on the bail documents which paved way for the acceptance of the bail and the issuance of the court’s order to set aside the warrant.

According to Ramasola, barely 10 minutes later, an NBI agent also arrived and talked to the court personnel who handled the bail process.

Ramasola would later learn that said court personnel was asked by the agent what he was doing and was told that he has just posted bail.

Ramasola said he and the NBI agent would have “a pleasant friendly moment” and it was during their talk that the agent admitted they were requested to conduct a special operation to serve Ramasola’s warrant of arrest.