By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines - A real estate magnate has filed a libel complaint against his ex-lover and editors of a tabloid for alleging in a news story that he had made a sex slave out of his former girlfriend.

In a complaint affidavit filed on Tuesday, Reghis Romero II named the respondents as his ex-lover Kristina Bernadette Roper, and Hataw managing editor Gloria Galuno and circulation manager Edwin Alcala.

The allegedly libelous article was published on the front page of Hataw on April 4, with the headline 'Sumigaw na sex slave ng ex-Erap crony.'

In the story, Roper alleged that Romero made a sex slave out of her and forced her into a relationship.

Romero said the article accused him of being a sex pervert and sadist, among other things, 'all of which are not only downright false and entirely fabricated, but worse, were apparently intended to extort money from me.'