Alfred Vargas, wife say evidence ‘ignored’ in dismissed complaint vs Rob Sy

Alfred Vargas and his wife Yasmine have appealed the Manila Prosecutors’ Office’s dismissal of their criminal complaint against Rob Sy and his partner Juvelle Bacosa, saying that the ruling “applied the wrong law and failed to consider key evidence.”

It can be recalled that the criminal complaint filed by the Vargas couple against Sy and his partner over an alleged bullying of their child was junked by the Office of the City Prosecutor of Manila for lack of evidence.

In their Motion for Reconsideration, the Vargases said the resolution wrongly relied on the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 instead of the child protection law they cited in their complaint.

“We respectfully believe that the Resolution erred in adopting restrictive interpretation of the law and failed to fully appreciate the totality of the evidence on record,” the couple said in a statement on Wednesday, June 3.

The complaint filed by the celebrity couple is anchored on Section 10(a) of Republic Act No. 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, which covers abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and conditions prejudicial to a child’s development.

They stressed that the incident cited in their complaint occurred during a swimming competition at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex on February 14, 2026, and not in a school setting.

In their motion, the Vargas spouses said the resolution “narrowed the protection afforded by law by treating the incident involving their seven-year old child as a purely school-based bullying incident,” adding that this interpretation “overlooked the broader protections provided under Republic Act No. 7610.”

READ: Rob Sy insists his son is the real victim, takes a swipe at Alfred Vargas

The couple also claimed that the resolution failed to properly weigh evidence they submitted, including eyewitness accounts, reports, and psychiatric findings.

“The pieces of evidence submitted showed that the bullying incident triggered fear, emotional distress, humiliation, and psychological harm,” they said.

They further alleged that respondents Sy and Bacosa did not act on repeated warnings and reminders to intervene during the incident.

Contrary to the resolution’s findings, the Vargases also disputed the characterization of the incident as a “mere childish disagreement or minor altercation.”

“These are not trivial matters,” they said. “These are precisely the kinds of acts and conditions that Republic Act No. 7610 seeks to prevent, particularly when they affect the dignity, emotional security, psychological well-being, and development of a child.”

The couple emphasized that their case “has never been about publicity, personal conflict, or retaliation,” but about accountability and child protection.

“It has always been about parents’ accountability, child protection, and ensuring that the law works for the very individuals it was designed to protect,” they said.

Meanwhile, Sy, who denied the bullying allegations and claimed that the Vargases “twisted the narrative,” earlier asserted that his child is the real victim of the said bullying.

Aside from the dismissed child abuse complaint, Sy also faces a cyberlibel complaint separately filed by the Vargas couple. /edv