Beauty queen-actress Michelle Dee is prepared to escalate her legal battle against social media personality Christian “Xian” Gaza, with her camp considering the possibility of seeking assistance from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) should a warrant of arrest be issued against him.
On Thursday, Dee’s legal counsel, Atty. Maggie Garduque appeared before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cybercrime Division to submit a supplemental affidavit in connection with the cyber libel complaint filed by the actress. The complaint stems from alleged defamatory posts circulating online, which Dee claims were published with malicious intent.
In an ambush interview, Garduque explained that if reports are accurate that Gaza is currently residing in Thailand for business, law enforcement authorities may pursue an Interpol red notice should the court issue a warrant for his arrest. A red notice is a request circulated worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition.
“Should it become necessary, we will coordinate with all relevant law enforcement agencies,” Garduque said, noting that Gaza reportedly faces other pending cases and an existing warrant. She added that applying for a red notice would allow authorities to apprehend him even if he remains outside the Philippines.
According to Garduque, the request for an Interpol notice would be coursed through Philippine law enforcement agencies if the case progresses to court and results in an arrest warrant. She also disclosed that she had been informed of an alias warrant against Gaza for syndicated estafa, which could strengthen grounds for international action.
In 2018, a regional trial court in Malabon convicted Gaza of estafa, sentencing him to five years and six months in prison for issuing bouncing checks amounting to P2 million to a businesswoman.
Dee first appeared at the NBI on February 16 to formally lodge her cyber libel complaint against Gaza and administrators of certain Facebook pages accused of spreading false claims. Among the allegations were posts suggesting that she had fled abroad to evade legal troubles.
Garduque emphasized that the posts in question were allegedly made with “actual malice,” asserting that they contained statements known to be untrue. She cited recent posts referencing remarks allegedly made by Dee’s mother, former beauty queen Melanie Marquez, describing them as potentially defamatory imputations.
Despite parallel allegations filed against Dee and other personalities, her camp remains confident that the cyber libel case will move forward and hold those responsible accountable under Philippine law.