Demetriou to appeal quashed ‘offending religious feelings’ case vs priest

MANILA, Philippines — Following the granting of the motion to quash by a Quezon City court on the charge of offending religious feelings against Dominican exorcist Fr. Winston Cabading, the case’s plaintiff, former SandiganBayan Associate Justice Harriet Demetriou, announced her intention to appeal.

Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 224 Judge Zita Marie M. Atienza-Fajardo ruled on May 7, 2024, that Demetriou did not provide sufficient evidence that Cabading violated Article 133 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes offending religious feelings, or Section 6 of Republic Act 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which addresses crimes committed using information and communications technologies.

In a phone interview with Philstar.com, Demetriou, who is also Marian devotee, said that she and her lawyers will appeal the case to the Court of Appeals all the way to the Supreme Court.

“We're going to exhaust all legal remedies provided for by law,” Demetriou said in a phone interview with Philstar.com.

A motion to quash is a legal motion filed before the court aimed at declaring a particular indictment, information or charge against the accused invalid.

In quashing the information, the Quezon City RTC said that Demetriou failed to provide sufficient evidence that Cabading violated Article 133 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) which provides penalties for offending religious feelings.

The quashed complaint was also filed under Section 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which mandates that offenses defined under the Revised Penal Code will receive a penalty one degree higher than indicated in the penal code.

In December 2022, Demetriou initiated legal action against Cabading, labeling him a "rabid critic" of the Mediatrix of All Grace.

The former SandiganBayan justice accused the Dominican exorcist of offending her and other believers by expressing his opinions about followers of the Marian apparition at the Carmelite Monastery of Lipa in 1948, which had been debunked by the Vatican twice.

RELATED: Vatican releases decree affirming Lipa apparition 'not supernatural'

The former Commission on Elections chair cited a Facebook video that quoted Cabading’s