(Logo from Angel's Burger Facebook page)
MANILA – A cyber libel complaint has been filed by fast food chain Angel's Burger Wednesday against a person who posted on his Facebook account a "staged photo" of a burger with a coin in the patty.
In a press statement released on Thursday, lawyer Gabriel Ablola said his client, Angelica DL Mojica Corporation, which owns Angel's Burger through brand manager Jose Alfredo Canlas de Leon decided to sue the netizen to protect the interest of over a thousand Angel's Burger stands slandered by the fake photo.
"This cyberlibel case was filed to protect interests of small business owners of over 1,000 franchisees of Angel's Burger kiosks nationwide, especially now when these entrepreneurs are suffering from the impact of the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic and community quarantines," Ablola said.
The netizen posted the photo on Facebook twice, first on May 30, 2019 and again on May 30, 2020 with a comment saying "Hayop ka Angel's Burger. Unang kagat may sukli agad (Shame on you, Angel's Burger. I get my change on first bite)".
Complainant de Leon, said the "malicious" Facebook posts are "easily accessible and viewable by anyone connected to the internet, was shared by at least 39,000 Facebook users."
De Leon also said the netizen feloniously communicated the malicious imputations against Angel’s Burger not only to his Facebook friends and followers, but to anyone who has access to the internet.
"The complainant said the libelous article mentioned Angel’s Burger and included a product he (the netizen) purports to be ours, staged to look like there was a coin in the patty," he added. (PNA)
