BY JEFFREY DAMICOG
Beauty queen Catriano Gray is expected to submit to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) this Monday her statement regarding her complaint on fake nude photos of her circulating online.
This was confirmed by NBI Cyber Crime Division (NBI-CCD) Chief Victor Lorenzo on Saturday, four days after the 2018 Miss Universe appeared at the NBI to file her complaint against the uploader of her fake photos.
Lorenzo said Gray was supposed to submit to his office her statement last Wednesday.
“Baka Monday na ‘yun,” the NBI official said in a text message. “Total lockdown kasi ang NBI,” he explained.
NBI Officer-In-Charge Eric Distor placed the bureau’s compound in Manila under lockdown from July 22 to 26 to pave way for the disinfection and sanitation of its offices.
Lorenzo said those behind the fake photos of Gray will face charges for violating Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 as well as RA 9995 or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009. During the beauty queen’s visit last July 21, NBI Deputy Director Vicente de Guzman III assured her that the bureau will unmask the culprits behind the fake photos.
“The reason why the NBI is conducting an investigation is to determine the persons accountable for its posting in the social media,” De Guzman said.
“Kahit sino tamaan niyan icha-charge naming,” he added. Lawyer Christopher Liquigan, who accompanied Gray at the NBI, had issued a statement which denounced the “vicious attempt to tarnish the good name of Ms. Gray.”
The lawyer informed the public that those “photos and whatever information statements that are being spread are fake and the pictures are digitally altered.”
Liquigan said Gray’s camp is “actively coordinating with authorities to hold accountable whoever is behind this scheme and face penal sanctions accordingly.”
“We will likewise take legal actions against those involved in the manufacture and publication of the said photo,” he added. (Jeffrey Damicog)
