MANILA, Philippines?The Department of Justice has submitted for resolution the P25-million libel case filed by actor Richard Gutierrez against showbiz news website Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP).

At Tuesday?s preliminary investigation, State Prosecutor Mary Jane Sytat told Gutierrez the case was submitted for resolution after PEP editor-in-chief Jo-Ann Maglipon chose not to file a counter-affidavit.

Lawyer Sandy Koronel, counsel for Maglipon, said her client believed it was enough that the journalist had already apologized to Gutierrez and that the story found libelous by the actor had been removed from the website.

Gutierrez filed complaint against Maglipon, PEP managing editor Karen Pagsolingan, and staff writer Ferdinand Godinez.

The lead actor of GMA-7's "Zorro," claimed that the three maliciously published an article on March 29 that accused him of being in a gun-toting incident with actor Michael Flores.

Gutierrez said that as an endorser of several brands, the article discredited him by portraying him as a "troublemaker" when "no such incident took place."

PEP earlier posted an apology on its website, acknowledging its mistake of posting the story on the alleged gun-toting incident without getting the statements of Gutierrez and Flores.

Flores had also denied such a confrontation with Gutierrez took place.

Maglipon, however, said in TV interviews they were apologizing for their lapse in failing to get the sides of all involved and were not necessarily saying that the event never took place.

She added that Gutierrez?s mother and manager, Annabelle Rama, had agreed not to press charges against PEP if they would issue an apologize on the website.

But Rama said that what she asked for was a complete retraction of the story and not just an apology for lapses. With a report from Allison Lopez, Philippine Daily Inquirer