Attachment in the following sentence complaint has not been attached.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE CITY PROSECUTOR
PARAAQUE CITY

TIGER RESORT, LEISURE AND

ENTERTAINMENT, INC.,
Complainant,
I.S. NO. ________________________
- versus

For: Libel under Article 353, in

relation to Article 355, of the
Revised Penal Code and other
applicable offenses

STEPHEN WYNN,
Respondent.
x----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------x

COMPLAINT-AFFIDAVIT

Complainant TIGER RESORT, LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT, INC.,

as represented by its duly authorized officer, Hajime Tokuda, Japanese, of legal
age, and with office address at the Ground Floor, Burgundy McKinley Place,
Pacific Avenue, Asiaworld City Boulevard, Paraaque City, after having been
sworn in accordance with law, hereby states:
1.

Complainant TIGER RESORT, LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT,

INC. (Tiger) is a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the
Philippines, with principal address at the Ground Floor, Burgundy McKinley
Place, Pacific Avenue, Asiaworld City Boulevard, Paraaque City. Complainant
Tiger is represented herein by its [position], HAJIME TOKUDA, pursuant to the
Board Resolution/Secretarys Certificate attached hereto as Annex A.
1.1.

Complainant Tiger may be served with orders, notices and

processes through its counsel, Poblador Bautista and Reyes Law Offices,
with address at the 5th Floor, SEDCCO 1 Building, 120 Rada corner
Legaspi Streets, Legaspi Village, Makati City.

2
2.

Respondent STEPHEN A. WYNN (Wynn) is an American citizen, of

legal age, with office address at 3131 Las Vegas Boulevard, South, Las Vegas,
Nevada 89109, U.S.A. Preliminary investigation may proceed against him, even
if he is not a resident of this country, pursuant to Section 3 (d) of Rule 112 of the
Rules of Criminal Procedure, which provides that if the respondent cannot be
subpoenaed, the investigating officer shall resolve the complaint based on the
evidence presented by the complainant.

Statement of Facts
3.

Complainant Tiger is a Philippine corporation whose primary

corporate purpose is to acquire, own, maintain, operate and/or manage hotels

(city and resort), inns, apartments, private clubs, pension houses, convention
halls, lodging houses, restaurants, cocktail bars , online gambling, casinos,
gambling clubs, other similar recreational or amusement places A copy of its
Amended Articles of Incorporation is attached as Annex B hereof.
4.

Complainant Tiger is one of the companies of KAZUO OKADA (Mr.

Okada), a Japanese national. Mr. Okada, through various companies, has

extensive business interests in the field of gaming and casino in Japan, the
United States, the Philippines, and other countries. Among his companies are
UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION (UEC), a Japanese corporation;
ARUZE USA, INC. (Aruze), a Nevada corporation; and herein complainant,
Tiger. Complainant Tiger is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aruze (see Tigers 2012
General Information Sheet, attached as Annex B-1 hereof), but Aruzes
shareholdings have been transferred to another UEC subsidiary, Universal
Entertainment Hong Kong Limited, subject to the completion of registration
requirements.
5.

In 2000, Mr. Okada contributed as much as US$380 million to a

company established by respondent Wynn, VALVINO LAMORE, LLC (Valvino).

This company is the predecessor of WYNN RESORTS, LIMITED (Wynn
Resorts). With his contribution, Mr. Okada thereby became an equal investor
with the respondent in Valvino/Wynn Resorts.

Wynn Resorts, through

subsidiaries, operates resort casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada, and in Macau,

China.

5.1.

Mr. Okada, through Aruze and UEC, owns approximately

19.66% of the stock of Wynn Resorts. These shares were unlawfully and
forcibly redeemed from him in an intra-corporate dispute that is currently
being questioned in the courts of Nevada, USA.
5.2.

Respondent is also a substantial stockholder of Wynn Resorts

and its Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO). As such, he has the most dominant voice and influence in the
management of Wynn Resorts.
5.3.

Attached as Annex C hereof is a copy of the Complaint filed by

Mr. Okada and UEC, among others, against Mr. Wynn and Wynn Resorts,
among others, before the Tokyo District Court (Japan Complaint). The
said Japan Complaint discusses matters in relation to Valvino and Wynn
Resorts in relation to Mr. Okada and Mr. Wynn.
6.

Sometime in 2007, Mr. Efraim Genuino, former Chairman of the

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), visited Japan and

invited Japanese companies to invest in casino and resort projects in the
Philippines. Mr. Okada began exploring the idea of investing and building a
casino and hotel resort project in the Philippines. He invited respondent to join
him in the project, seeing it as an opportunity for Wynn Resorts to make money.
7.

In the beginning, respondent appeared to be interested in the

Philippine project. However, he later changed his mind and said that Wynn
Resorts was not interested in pursuing the project.
8.

Complainant Tiger became Mr. Okadas investment vehicle for his

project in the Philippines.

In 2008, PAGCOR issued to complainant Tiger a

Provisional License to develop, establish, and operate casinos within the Bagong
Nayon Pilipino Manila Bay Tourism City.
9.

Meanwhile, a dispute arose between Mr. Okada and respondent

involving, among others, Mr. Okadas opposition to an anomalous donation

pledged by Wynn Macau Limited, a Macau subsidiary of Wynn Resorts in Macau.

4
10.

In 2011, Wynn Macau Limited pledged to donate a total of

US$135,000,000 to the University of Macau Development Foundation over a

12-year period to 2022. This would match the duration of the gaming concession
granted to 2022 by the Macau government to Wynn Macau Limited in Macau.
The said foundation is a financial organization which consists of government
officials and casino business operators in Macau.
11.

During a meeting of the Wynn Resorts Board of Directors, Mr. Okada

vehemently objected to the donation. He also filed a petition with a Nevada state
court questioning the approval of the donation. The case caught the attention of
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which commenced an informal
inquiry into the matter.
12.

Mr. Okadas actions did not sit well with respondent, as the latter

feared that an investigation would reveal that the purpose for the huge donation
in Macau was improper and illegal. This prompted respondent Wynn to use the
Philippine project as a pretext to eliminate and take over Mr. Okadas
stockholdings (through UEC and Aruze), and remove him from Wynn Resorts.
13.

During a meeting of the Wynn Resorts Board of Directors in

November 2011, respondent suddenly made false and malicious claims that the
Philippines is awash in corruption and that there were improprieties in Mr.
Okadas Philippine project.
14.

Mr. Okada immediately defended the Philippines. He provided the

Board members with materials showing that the Philippines has exceeded India
as the top outsourcing country; it is the only English-speaking society in Asia;
top corporations from the USA and Japan have opened factories and businesses
in the Philippines; the economic growth rate in the Philippines exceeds 8%; it is a
strong country that is expected to experience high growth in the future; and the
like. Mr. Okada further argued that the Philippines has been properly governed
as a democratic country by President Aquino, whose father was a democratic
activist, under a strong anti-corruption campaign.
15.

The Board meeting determined that Mr. Okada and his companies

must have engaged in corrupt activities in connection with the Philippine project,
based on the supposition that the Philippines is a corrupt country and further

5
determined that Mr. Okada was to be dismissed from his position as Vice
Chairman of Wynn Resorts.
16.

Respondent thereafter hired Mr. Louis Freeh and his firm, Freeh

Sporkin & Sullivan LLP (Freeh LLP), to conduct an investigation of the alleged
corrupt activities of Mr. Okada and his companies. The investigation was clearly
an afterthought and was commissioned for the purpose of providing justification
for the baseless findings of the Compliance Committee.
17.

Mr. Freeh came up with a report1 (the Freeh Report) which falsely

claimed, among others, that Mr. Okada, his associates and companies appear to
have engaged in a longstanding practice of making payments and gifts to his two
(2) chief gaming regulators at [PAGCOR], who directly oversee and regulate Mr.
Okadas Provisional Licensing Agreement to operate in that country. Since 2008,
Mr. Okada and his associates have made multiple payments to and on behalf of
these chief regulators, former PAGCOR Chairman Efraim Genuino and
Chairman Cristino Naguiat (his current chief regulator), their families and
PAGCOR associates, in an amount exceeding US 110,000. At times, Mr. Okada,
his associates and companies have consciously taken active measures to conceal
both the nature and amount of these payments2
A copy of the Freeh Report is attached as Annex D hereof.
18.

Respondent maliciously caused copies of the Freeh Report to be

given to the press, which enabled several newspapers to publish the contents of
the Freeh Report.
19.

On 19 February 2012, Wynn Resorts, under the direction and

control of respondent, maliciously issued a global press release, published on its

website, containing the following libelous accusations against Mr. Okada and his
associates and companies, i.e., complainant Tiger, UEC, and Aruze (the Press
Release):
a)

1
2

Freehs investigators uncovered and documented more than

three dozen instances over a three-year period in which Mr.
Okada and his associates engaged in improper activities for
their own benefit in apparent violation of U.S. anti-corruption

Annex D hereof.
Freeh Report (Annex D), pages 1-2.

6
laws and gross disregard for the Companys Code of Conduct.
These troubling discoveries include cash payments and gifts
totaling approximately $110,000 to foreign gaming
regulators.
b)

Mr. Okada and his associates and companies appear to have

engaged in a longstanding practice of making payments and
gifts to his two chief gaming regulators at the Philippines
Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), who directly
oversee and regulated Mr. Okadas Provisional Licensing
Agreement to operate in that county, according to the Freeh
Report. The report further stated that Mr. Okada and his
associates have consciously taken active measures to conceal
both the nature and amount of these payments.

c)

Based on the Freeh Report, presented to the Wynn Resorts

Board of Directors on February 18, 2012 the Board
determined that Aruze USA, Inc., Universal Entertainment
Corporation and Mr. Okada are unsuitable under the
provisions of the Companys Articles of Incorporation.

d)

Pursuant to the finding of unsuitability, the Board had

redeemed Aruze USA, Inc.s 24 million Wynn Resorts shares.

A copy of the Press Release printed from a computer located in the

Philippines is attached hereto as Annex E.
20.

The Press Release was published by respondent on the website of

Wynn Resorts with the intent that it be accessed in any part of the world
including

the

Philippines.

As

of

the

time

of

preparation

of

this

Complaint-Affidavit, the Press Release remains posted on Wynn Resorts website.

21.

The defamatory statements or imputations made by respondent

against Mr. Okada, complainant Tiger, UEC and Aruze, are all malicious and
false. Attached hereto as Annexes F to Q are news articles quoting interviews
with current PAGCOR Chairman Cristino Naguiat and other Philippine
government officials denying the claims made in the Freeh Report. The news
articles show that there was no law violated by Mr. Okada, complainant Tiger,
UEC, Aruze, or Chairman Naguiat, and that the PAGCOR officials were cleared of
any wrongdoing by the House Committee on Games and Amusements.
21.1. The falsity of the defamatory statements is further discussed
and demonstrated in the Japan Complaint (Annex C, supra). As shown
therein, there is no basis to the allegation of violations of anti-corruption

7
laws or other improper or illegal activities. Mr. Okadas companies also
have strict regulations prohibiting bribery, which are being firmly
enforced.
22.

The Freeh Report, which was heavily publicized in the Press Release,

is clearly a one-sided, inaccurate, and unreliable report. Mr. Freeh improperly

and hastily conducted his investigation in his bid to provide respondent with
some colorable basis to kick out Mr. Okada from Wynn Resorts and seize his
stockholdings therein.
22.1. Mr. Freeh subjected Mr. Okada to questioning about allegedly
improper entertainment expenses in favor of PAGCOR officials and their
families in Macau, without allowing Mr. Okada to prepare for the interview
and gather information from his subordinates who were the ones actually
in charge of the day-to-day operations of the business. Mr. Freeh ignored
the fact that Mr. Okada, being the Chairman and a Director of UEC, was
not responsible for the execution of its day-to-day operations and had no
knowledge of the matters inquired into by Mr. Freeh. At the time, UEC was
a company with committees, and directors did not conduct day-to-day
business operations.
22.2. Mr. Okada informed Mr. Freeh that he would submit some of
the information requested by the latter at a later date, after confirmation
with his subordinates. However, after only three (3) days and without
waiting for such information, Mr. Freeh rushed the Freeh Report and
submitted the same to the Wynn Resorts Board of Directors, without
allowing Mr. Okada to provide the necessary information and corrections.
Clearly, the Freeh Report was inaccurate and incomplete and prepared
with undue haste.
22.3. The serious flaws and defects in the Freeh investigation and
the Freeh Report are further discussed in the Japan Complaint (Annex C,
supra). As shown therein, the methods used by Mr. Freeh were patently
unfair to Mr. Okada and deprived him of his right to be fully heard on the
matter.

Mr. Freehs conclusions were also tentative, incomplete and

uncertain, indicating that they lack any solid basis for such reckless and
malicious accusations.

23.

The foregoing facts clearly reveal the plot by respondent to publicly

and maliciously attack the person and character of Mr. Okada, complainant
Tiger, UEC and Aruze and to tarnish their reputation in the eyes of the public.
This was done to justify the forcible redemption and take-over of Aruzes 19.66%
stockholdings in Wynn Resorts, at an unreasonably discounted redemption price
that is payable in 10 years.
24.

Due to respondents illegal acts, Mr. Okada, complainant Tiger, UEC

and Aruze suffered serious damage to their business, reputation and credibility.
The stock price of UEC declined immediately after the issuance of the Press
Release. (See Japan Complaint, Annex C, supra.)
25.

It must also be noted that respondents actions, including the

issuance of the Press Release, constitute a public, malicious and direct attack,
not only on the person and character of Mr. Okada, complainant Tiger, UEC and
Aruze, but also on the integrity of the Republic of the Philippines, President
Benigno Aquino, Jr. and Philippine government officials. Respondent recklessly
and maliciously imputed in public that the Philippines is a corrupt country.

The Elements of the Crime Committed

26.

Respondents act of publicly imputing corruption against Mr.

Okada, complainant Tiger, UEC and Aruze constitutes the crime of libel as
defined in Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), thus:
Art. 353. Definition of Libel. A libel is a public and
malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or
imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance
tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a natural or
juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.
27.

The elements of libel are as follows:3

a)

Imputation of a discreditable act or condition to another;

b)

Publication of the imputation;

Daez v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 47971, 31 October 1990, 191 SCRA 61, 67; Binay vs.
Secretary of Justice, G.R. No. 170643, September 8, 2006.
3

9
c)

Identity of the person defamed; and

d)

Existence of malice.

All of these elements are present in this case.

First Element: Imputation of a

discreditable act or condition to
another

28.

Under Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code, there must be an

imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act,

omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor,
discredit, or contempt of a natural or juridical person.
29.

As explained above, respondent, through the Press Release, imputed

that Mr. Okada and his companies, including complainant Tiger, UEC, and
Aruze, had engaged in corrupt activities with the gaming authority officials in the
Philippines:
Freehs investigators uncovered and documented more than
three dozen instances over a three-year period in which Mr. Okada
and his associates engaged in improper activities for their own
benefit in apparent violation of U.S. anti-corruption laws and
gross disregard for the Companys Code of Conduct. These troubling
discoveries include cash payments and gifts totaling
approximately $110,000 to foreign gaming regulators.
Mr. Okada and his associates and companies appear to
have engaged in a longstanding practice of making payments
and gifts to his two chief gaming regulators at the Philippines
Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), who directly
oversee and regulated Mr. Okadas Provisional Licensing Agreement
to operate in that county, according to the Freeh Report. The report
further stated that Mr. Okada and his associates have consciously
taken active measures to conceal both the nature and amount of
these payments.

30.

Such imputations of corrupt activities are clearly discreditable and

dishonorable.4 They are an affront to the reputation, honor, and integrity of Mr.
Okada, complainant Tiger, UEC and Aruze. Indeed, respondents imputations
are so dishonorable that some lawmakers were deeply offended and called for a
See Daez v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 47971, 31 October 1990, 191 SCRA 61, involving an
imputation of corruption.

10
ban against respondent from the country.5

Second Element:
Imputation

31.

Publication

of

For purposes of libel, the element of publication simply means the

communication of the defamatory matter to some third person or persons.6

Publication means to make public; to make known to people in general; to
bring before the public. Specifically put, publication in the law of libel means
the making known of the defamatory matter, after it has been written, to some
person other than the person of whom it is written.7
32.

In this case, the defamatory Press Release was certainly made

known to the public as it was released and posted on the website of Wynn
Resorts, with the intent to make it accessible, as it was in fact made accessible to
other countries, including the Philippines.

By its very nature as a Press

Release, it was intended to be disseminated and propagated.

Since the

defamatory material is posted on the website, it is accessible all over the world,
including the Philippines. It is therefore punishable here.
33.

Publication via the internet is still publication for purposes of libel.

What is essential is that the defamatory matter be communicated or made

known, regardless of the means by which it is communicated or made known.
Article 355 penalizes libel committed by means of writing, printing, lithography,
engraving, radio, phonograph, painting, theatrical exhibition, cinematographic
exhibition, or any similar means. While the internet is not expressly
mentioned in Article 355, it may be considered as similar means to the other
medium mentioned therein.

Like them, the internet is a medium used for

communicating to the general public. Relatedly, jurisprudence holds that libel

can be committed by television, although television is not expressly mentioned
among the means specified in Article 355. Television qualifies under the general
provision or any similar means.8 In U.S. vs. Go Chico,9 the Supreme Court held
See article entitled Lawmakers rally round Pagcor, move to ban Wynn, Philippine Daily
Inquirer, February 28, 2012 (Annex __ hereof).
6 Luis B. Reyes, The Revised Penal Code, Vol. II (14th Ed.), page 924, citing People vs. Atencio,
CA-G.R. Nos. 11351-R to 11353-R, December 14, 1954.
7 Alonzo vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 110088, February 1, 1995.
8 Luis B. Reyes, The Revised Penal Code, Vol. II (14th Ed.), page 951, citing People vs. Casten,
CA-G.R. No. 07924-R, December 13, 1974.
9 14 Phil. 128 (1909).
5

11
that statutes, including penal ones, must be reasonably construed to give
meaning to the legislative intent:
The statute, then, being penal, must be construed with such
strictness as to carefully safeguard the rights of the defendants and
at the same time preserve the obvious intention of the
legislature. x x x
It is said that notwithstanding this rule (that penal
statutes must be construed strictly) the intention of the
lawmakers must govern in the construction of penal as well as
other statutes. This is true, but this is not a new, independent rule
which subverts the old. It is a modification of the known maxim and
amounts to this that though penal statutes are to be construed
strictly, they are not to be construed so strictly as to defeat the
obvious purpose of the legislature. (U.S. vs. Wiltberger, 5 Wheat.,
76; Taylor vs. Goodwin, L.R. 4, Q.B. Div., 228.)
In the latter case it was held that under a statute which
imposed a penalty for furiously driving any sort of carriage a person
could be convicted for immoderately driving a bicycle.
It is presumed that the legislature intends to impart to its
enactments such a meaning as will render them operative and
effective, and to prevent persons from eluding or defeating
them. Accordingly, in case of any doubt or obscurity, the
construction will be such as to carry out these objects.

Similarly, in People vs. Manantan,

10

it was held that [t]he strict

construction of a criminal statute does not mean such construction of it as to

deprive it of the meaning intended. Penal statutes must be construed in the
sense which best harmonizes with their intent and purpose.
34.

In libel, the gravamen of the offense is the defamation or the injury

committed against a persons honor or reputation.

This is the evil that the

legislature sought to punish. The means used to defame or injure reputation is

secondary.
35.

The 2010 case of Bonifacio vs. RTC Makati, Branch 14911 involved

libel committed through the internet where, as in this case, defamatory materials
were posted on a website. The Supreme Court ruled that the venue for a libel
case is limited to only either of two places, namely: 1) where the complainant
actually resides at the time of the commission of the offense; or 2) where the
10
11

G.R. No. L-14129, July 31, 1962.

G.R. No. 184800, May 5, 2010.

12
alleged defamatory article was printed and first published. The prosecution
chose the second option, on the theory that the place where the website was first
accessed by the offended party is the place of first publication. The Supreme
Court rejected the said position. By clear implication, however, venue for internet
libel may still be laid using the first option: the place where the complainant
actually resides at the time of the commission of the offense. (Applying this to
the present case, the venue of a libel action by complainant Tiger may be laid in
Paraaque City, where Tiger has its residence or principal office as stated in its
Amended Articles of Incorporation.12)
36.

It is notable that in the aforementioned Bonifacio case, the Supreme

Court never ruled out that libel can be committed by means of the internet.
37.

In fact, the recent enactment of Republic Act (RA) No. 10175, or the

Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, confirms that libel under the Revised Penal
Code may be committed through a computer system. RA 10175 increases the
penalty for libel committed through the internet by making it one degree higher
than that provided in the Revised Penalty Code. RA 10175 pertinently provides:

SEC. 4. Cybercrime Offenses. The following acts constitute

the offense of cybercrime punishable under this Act:
xxx
(c)

Content-related Offenses
xxx

(4)
Libel The unlawful or prohibited acts of libel as
defined in Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended,
committed through a computer system or any other
similar means which may be devised in the future.
xxx
SEC. 6. All crimes defined and penalized by Revised Penal
Code, as amended, and special laws, if committed by, through and
with the use of information and communications technologies shall
be covered by the relevant provisions of this Act. Provided, That the
penalty to be imposed shall be one (1) degree higher than that
provided for by the Revised Penal Code, as amended and special
laws, as the case may be.

12

Annex B hereof.

13
Section 4(c)(4) and Section 6 quoted above in fact clearly imply that there is
libel as defined in Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code and crimes defined
and penalized by Revised Penal Code through and with the use of information
and communications technologies.

RA 10175 operates only to increase the

penalty for such crimes as provided in the Revised Penal Code.

38.

RA 10175 further clarifies that the Philippines has territorial

jurisdiction over crimes committed by means of the internet or computer system,

as long as one of the elements of the offense is committed in the Philippines or
when the person damaged is in the Philippines, thus:
SEC. 21. Jurisdiction. The Regional Trial Court shall have
jurisdiction over any violation of the provisions of this Act including
any violation committed by a Filipino national regardless of the place
of commission. Jurisdiction shall be if any of the elements was
committed within the Philippines or committed with the use of
any computer system wholly or partly situated in the country or
when by such commission any damage is caused to a natural or
juridical person who, at the time the offense was committed,
was in the Philippines. x x x

39.

It is therefore clear that Philippine courts have jurisdiction over the

libel committed by respondent since the element of damage took place in the
Philippines, where complainant Tiger is incorporated and where it holds its place
of business. Since complainant Tiger is a Philippine corporation doing business
in the Philippines, a libel committed against it injures its reputation in the
Philippines. Damage (in the form of discredit or dishonor or injury to reputation)
is thus suffered in the Philippines, and the Philippine legal system therefore has
territorial jurisdiction over the offense.
40.

While the implementation of RA 10175 was put on hold by the

Supreme Courts issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order, the Primer on

Cybercrime issued by the Department of Justice on 26 November 2012 provides
that as of the moment, cybercrime-related cases are dealt with using existing
laws. This means that internet libel may be dealt with or prosecuted under the
existing provisions of the RPC on libel.

Third Element: Identity of Person

Defamed

14

41.

It is settled that in order to maintain a libel suit, it is essential that

the victim be identifiable although it is not necessary that he be named.13

Complainant Tiger, while not named in the defamatory Press Release, is clearly
identifiable therein. The Press Release states:
Mr. Okada and his associates and companies appear to
have engaged in a longstanding practice of making payments and
gifts to his two chief gaming regulators at the Philippines
Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), who directly
oversee and regulated Mr. Okadas Provisional Licensing
Agreement to operate in that county, according to the Freeh
Report. The report further stated that Mr. Okada and his associates
have consciously taken active measures to conceal both the nature
and amount of these payments.

42.

The foregoing mentions Mr. Okada and his associates and

companies in connection with PAGCOR and the Provisional Licensing

Agreement to operate in the Philippines. Clearly, complainant Tiger is being
referred to because it is the company of Mr. Okada in the Philippines that was
granted by PAGCOR with a Provisional License to operate in the Philippines.

Fourth Element: Existence of Malice

43.

Article 354 of the Revised Penal Code provides that Every

defamatory imputation is presumed to be malicious, even if true, if no good

intention and justifiable motive for making it be shown x x x In other words,
when the imputation is defamatory (as in this case), the prosecution need not
even prove malice on the part of the respondent, because the law presumes that
such defamatory imputation is malicious (malice in law). No evidence aliunde
need be adduced to prove it [i.e., malice]. x x x [T]he burden is upon the
defendant to overcome the legal inference of malice.14
44.

In this case, malice is not only presumed from the defamatory

nature of respondents imputations; it is also evident from the circumstances of

the case. In other words, there is not only malice in law (which is sufficient in
itself); there is also malice in fact.

[M]alice in fact is a positive desire and

Borjal vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 126466, January 14, 1999. See also Corpus vs.
Cuaderno, Sr. (16 SCRA 807)
14 People vs. Monton, G.R. No. L-16772, November 30, 1962.
13

15
intention to annoy and injure. It may denote that the defendant was actuated by
ill will or personal spite. It is also called express malice, actual malice, real
malice, true malice, or particular malice.15
45.

As shown above, respondents actions were prompted by ill-will,

spite, and ulterior motives. They were deliberately done to tarnish the reputation
of Mr. Okada and his companies, including complainant Tiger, as part of a grand
scheme to forcibly redeem and take over Mr. Okadas stockholdings in Wynn
Resorts, remove him from the Board of Directors of Wynn Resorts, and prevent
further investigation into the anomalous US$135 million donation made by
Wynn Resorts to the University of Macau Development Foundation.
46.

Based on all the foregoing, it is clear that respondent should be

charged with the crime of libel under Article 353, in relation to Article 355, of the
Revised Penal Code.
47.

The undersigned affiant is executing this Complaint-Affidavit on

behalf of complainant Tiger to attest to the truth of the foregoing statements, for
the purpose of instituting criminal proceedings against respondent Stephen
Wynn for the crime of libel under Article 353, in relation to Article 355, of the
Revised Penal Code, and any other applicable crimes as may be determined by
this Honorable Office. This is without prejudice to the filing of a complaint under
Republic Act No. 10175.

TIGER RESORT, LEISURE AND

ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
Complainant
By:
HAJIME TOKUDA
Affiant

15

Yuchengco vs. Manila Chronicle, G.R. No. 184315, November 25, 2009.

16

CERTIFICATION
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ______ day of December 2012
at Paraaque City.
I hereby certify that I have personally examined the Affiant and that I am
satisfied that he voluntarily executed and understood the foregoing
Complaint-Affidavit.

Assistant City Prosecutor

1657.10.01
Jcp/Invest Asia/
Complaint-Affidavit Tiger vs. Wynn December 10