Prominent Filipino cosplayer and content creator Prince De Guzman has announced plans to seek assistance from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to file formal legal charges against online harassers and trolls making defamatory statements about him.
De Guzman broke his silence following a prolonged period of online harassment, calling on his followers and community members to screenshot and preserve evidence of malicious posts to assist in building a legal case.
“To my community who saw this, kindly screenshot. I’m going to need witnesses and file this ASAP via NBI,” De Guzman shared in a public statement. “Fortunately, I have seen them track down trolls and slanderers behind fake accounts. I have been quiet for a very long time.”
He emphasized that individuals operating anonymous or dummy accounts would not be exempt from legal accountability, pointing to the NBI Cybercrime Division’s capabilities in unmasking online identities and tracing digital footprints.
De Guzman’s announcement stirred significant discussion across local cosplay and pop-culture communities, with many creators and supporters voicing support for legal recourse against cyberbullying. The move also drew reactions from alleged harassers, including a user named “Leon Vo,” who posted a sarcastic response questioning the agency’s reach.
In the Philippines, publishing or spreading false and malicious statements online can be prosecuted as cyberlibel under Republic Act No. 10175, otherwise known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, in conjunction with Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code.
The NBI Cybercrime Division routinely handles the preservation of digital evidence, IP address tracing, and identity verification in online defamation cases prior to transferring findings to the Department of Justice for prosecution.