CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — A local radio news director is facing complaints for alleged violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Data Privacy Act after her station published screenshots of a private Messenger conversation with a city official regarding delayed student scholarship allowances.
Menzie Montes, news director of RMN-Cagayan de Oro, received a subpoena from the Office of the City Prosecutor on April 23 directing her to submit a counter-affidavit.
The complaint was filed by Richel Petalcurin-Dahay, acting department head of the city’s Education and Development Office.
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The case stemmed from a November 2025 report involving complaints from city scholars over delayed tuition payments and stipends.
According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Cagayan de Oro Chapter, RMN-CDO posted an anonymous complaint from a student on its Facebook page regarding the delay in scholarship releases.
The post prompted Petalcurin-Dahay to contact Montes through Facebook Messenger.
Both parties later agreed to an on-air interview scheduled for Nov. 25, 2025 to address the issue.
However, before the scheduled interview, Petalcurin-Dahay canceled the guesting, reportedly saying her office would only respond to concerns from identifiable students and not anonymous complainants.
Following the cancellation, RMN-CDO posted an update for listeners and included screenshots of the Messenger conversation between Montes and the city official.
In her complaint, Petalcurin-Dahay said the publication of the private chat violated her right to privacy and raised concerns over journalistic ethics.
The NUJP-CDO Chapter criticized the filing of the complaint, saying the issue involves a matter of public interest since it concerns the release of scholarship funds.
Franck Rosete, chairperson of the local NUJP chapter, said the issue could have first been addressed through the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental Chapter.
“I learned that before filing a complaint, this was brought to KBP-Cagayan de Oro. It could have been settled there first,” Rosete said.
He added that Montes was performing her duty as a journalist by seeking the city government’s side on concerns involving public funds.
“For me, Montes did nothing wrong, considering their conversation was work-related and involved a matter of public interest,” Rosete said.
The NUJP also said legal actions like this may create a chilling effect on journalists covering accountability issues.
“Public servants should not be too onion-skinned when facing issues involving public interest, as they are accountable to the people for their actions, decisions, and use of public resources,” the group said.
As of posting time, Petalcurin-Dahay has not issued a separate public statement beyond the complaint filed before the prosecutor’s office.
