Gomez, Gian Liezl Castro

12 - Hannah

Drilon critic sentenced to up to 4 years in prison for libel

By Nestor P. Burgos Jr.

ILOILO CITY — A fierce critic of Sen. Franklin Drilon who accused him of graft has
been convicted of libel and sentenced to imprisonment of up to four years and
two months. Former Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel “Boy” Mejorada was
found “guilty beyond reasonable doubt” by the Pasay City Regional Trial Court
Branch 118. In a 33-page decision dated Feb. 1 and released on Feb. 20, Judge
Rowena Nieves Tan found Mejorada guilty of four counts of libel in relation to his
social media and blog posts accusing Drilon of involvement in alleged irregularities
in infrastructure projects in Iloilo. The projects include the Iloilo Circumferential
Road in Barangay Ungka in Pavia town, the Iloilo Convention Center and the
Guimaras Iloilo Ferry Terminal project. Tan meted Mejorada a jail term from a
minimum of two years, four months and one day to a maximum of four years and
two months. Mejorada said his lawyer would file a motion for reconsideration.

SOURCE: http://m.inquirer.net/newsinfo/873485

Liz Uy speaks up on libel case vs 'Fashion Pulis' (philstar.com)

MANILA, Philippines - Celebrity stylist Liz Uy took to social media to address

reports that she is filing libel cases against Michael Sy Lim, also known as gossip
blogger "Fashion Pulis. It was reported on Monday that Liz is filing online libel and
slander cases against Lim. This, reports claim, stemmed from Lim's blog posts
about Liz's work as Maine Mendoza's stylist for "Eat Bulaga's Tamang Panahon"
event at the Philippine Arena last month. Lim also alleged that Liz made Maine
wear a jacket for a Preview Magazine shot that she wore prior. The title of his blog
post goes: "Liz Uy Makes Maine Mendoza Wear Same Jacket She Wore Weeks Ago
in Preview Photoshoot." In an Instagram post on Monday, Uy said: “ As a former
fashion editor, I was trained to uphold FAIR and RESPONSIBLE journalism at all
times. When I transitioned into celebrity styling and accidentally became a public
figure myself, I learned to embrace that being scrutinized by the public is part and
parcel of that position. However, sometimes things can be taken too far and place
me in a bad light, discrediting my hard work, my team, and my styling company. I
am not the first victim—many others have chosen to remain silent. I could have
done the same, but in the end, I realized that if we always let him get away with
cyber bullying, then he will continue to propagate untruthful claims and malicious
gossip on his blog and social media accounts. Thank you to everyone who has
expressed their support. I am fighting this battle not just for myself, but for every
single person—celebrity and otherwise—who has been bashed relentlessly and
unfairly. ” Meanwhile, Lim also issued a statement about the issue on his blog. His
statement goes: “ It is sad that a public figure such as Liz Uy decides to file a case
against me. Her feelings of being wronged by my post was based on a common
truthful observation about her body of work relative to Maine Mendoza of AlDub
which people other than me also pointed out. Is it a crime for ordinary people,
bloggers, showbiz writers and journalists to point out valid observations about
those in the public eyes? Other bloggers, writers, journalists and I should not be
cowered by the filing of cases just to suppress the freedom to express and of the
press. I will fight this case with the courage because I have no malicious intent. My
lawyer is also studying the filing of counter charges for malicious prosecution and
damages for the suppression of our freedom of the press and expression. ” In
August, Lim was arrested over a libel charge filed by Deniece Cornejo. He is
currently out on bail.

SOURCE: http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2015/11/09/1520110/liz-uy-
speaks-libel-case-vs-fashion-pulis?nomobile=1

Court acquits Negros radio anchor of libel raps

By Irma Faith Pal

DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental — The Regional Trial Court (RTC) has cleared a
broadcaster here, who was accused of two counts of libel by Negros Oriental Gov.
Roel Degamo over commentaries made in 2014. In a 14-page decision dated June
30, Judge Arlene Catherine A. Dato of Regional Trial Court Branch 39 said the
prosecution failed to prove that Cornelio B. Pepino of the dyMD Energy FM acted
in bad faith when he criticized the governor in his radio programs on Nov. 6 and 7,
2014. In his complaint, Degamo accused Pepino of branding him as a corrupt
public official when he said on air that the governor was against the Negros One-
Island Region concept because “his share will diminish…”. The broadcaster also
claimed that the governor failed to act on the problem of residents of Bankolino in
Barangay San Francisco, Sta. Catalina town, who wanted to stop the illegal gold
mining activity in their village. Other accusations against the governor included
overpricing government projects and forcefully taking the province’s intelligence
fund. But Pepino told the Court that he was merely reading the text message sent
by a listener when he said that the governor’s share would diminish upon the
establishment of the Negros Island Region in accordance with a law passed during
that time. Pepino also provided the court with a letter from the Mines and
Geosciences Bureau requesting the governor to stop the gold mining activity in
Sta. Catalina. He also submitted to the court the Commission on Audit report that
deemed the province’s projects and another report from the Department of
Budget and Management declaring the province’s Appropriations Ordinance
inoperative. Pepino also showed the court a copy of the COA decision, affirming
the notices of disallowance. In a decision, Judge Dato said there was nothing
untruthful about what the accused had discussed in his radio program. She said
the court carefully examined word for word the utterances or remarks made by
Pepino in his radio program but didn’t find the utterances to be defamatory.

SOURCE: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/911113/court-acquits-negros-radio-anchor-
of-libel-raps

Philippines: Journalists face criminal libel suits, two other cases dismissed

A journalist was convicted of libel and another arrested in the Philippines on the
same charge in less than two months. But two other libel cases against media
workers were dismissed during the same period. On 29 January 2016, Digos City
Police arrested broadcaster Arvin Malaza for five counts of alleged libel on the
strength of a warrant issued by the Davao del Sur Regional Trial Court on January
20. The libel complaint was filed by former Digos City mayor Arsenio Latasa. CMFR
reported on 29 September 2015 that Latasa had filed more than 225 counts of
criminal libel against Muews 97.5 fm and K 37 TV owner and broadcaster Malaza,
who is also known as Jun Blanco in his programs. The charges were based on the
supposedly libelous commentaries by the broadcaster over his radio program
Isumbong mo kay Blanco (Complain to Blanco) aired daily from 9:00 am to 12:00
pm with simulcast on K 37 TV. Malaza had discussed in his program the
extrajudicial killings that allegedly occurred and the questionable projects
supposedly undertaken by the city during Latasa's administration (1992 to 2010).
Malaza was admitted to the Digos Doctor's Hospital after he suffered chest pains
during his arrest. He was released after posting bail of PHP50,000 (approx.
US$1,045), but remained in the hospital where his condition is being monitored.
Earlier, on 21 December 2015, radio blocktimer Joene Cahilog, also known as Rex
"Kandos" Santos in his radio program, was found guilty of libel by the Negros
Oriental Regional Trial Court. Cahilog was sentenced to imprisonment of from one
year, eight months and 21 days to two years and two months. The libel charges
against the blocktimer were based on his “negative and hurtful” commentaries
against Florence Felice Baesa, another broadcaster from a different radio station
in Dumaguete, in his program Kandos aired over dyGB-FM in April 2014. The court
also ordered Cahilog to pay PHP20,000 (approx. US$418) in moral damages. A
report from The Sunday Negros Chronicle said Cahilog was also convicted on 2
May 2014 of libel charges filed by Nekanne Lleanderal -Ang Gobonseng. This was
after Cahilog commented on a drug raid by the Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency on a travel lounge owned by Gobonseng. The Taguig City Prosecutor's
Office dismissed the libel charges filed by alleged pork barrel mastermind Janet
Lim Napoles against Rappler reporter Natashya Gutierrez in 2013. The complaint
was based on Gutierrez's stories about the “lavish lifestyle” of Napoles' daughter
Jeane. According to the complaint, the Rappler reports caused the Napoles family
“grave humiliation and distress.” On 27 August 2013, CMFR reported that
businesswoman Napoles had filed separate libel complaints against reporter
Gutierrez, lawyer-blogger Berteni Causing, fashion designer Eduardo Baddeo who
granted interviews implicating Napoles in the alleged large-scale misuse of
government funds, and another against four individuals from the Manila
broadsheet Philippine Daily Inquirer (publisher Raul Pangalangan; editors Letty
Jimenez-Magsanoc and Jose Ma. D. Nolasco; and reporter Gil C. Cabacungan).
According to a 19 January Rappler report, the prosecutor dismissed the case
against Gutierrez in a resolution dated 16 November 2015 “for lack of probable
cause.” Also dismissed were the libel charges against Sun.Star Davao editor-in-
Chief Stella Estremera and a reporter identified as John Doe with the initials RSA.
The complaint filed before the Davao City Prosecutor's Office against Estremera
and RSA by Antonio Paner and Johnny Repaso was over a story published in April
2015 about the alleged eviction of 40 lumad (indigenous people) families from
their ancestral land in Tugbok, Davao City by the group allegedly headed by Paner
and Repaso. According to a Sun.Star report, a joint resolution dated 23 November
2015 by Prosecutor 3 Gaye Cañete and approved by Chief Prosecutor lawyer
Nestor Ledesma said that “The dismissal was based on the grounds that 'despite
the fact that the source of the news came from e-mails sent to the reporter, there
is no sufficient proof that will bolster the fact that the reporter entertained…that
there was a high degree of awareness of [the report's] probable falsity…such that
other news agencies picked up related news article involving the lumad in the
area where killings and chaos were allegedly happening.' “The respondent was
'able to present proof that other media entities published articles related to the
scenario as shown in the article,” the resolution stated, adding that the
questioned article (was in furtherance of) the need for the public to be informed
of the issues that beset certain groups of individuals in Manuel Guinga.'”

SOURCE: https://www.ifex.org/philippines/2016/02/08/criminal_libel_suits/

Professor loses libel case vs student

BAGUIO CITY—It was a case of the student knowing better than the teacher. The
editor of a campus newspaper on Thursday was acquitted by a court here of a libel
charge filed by a journalism professor of the University of the Philippines Baguio.
Jesusa Paquibot, editor of the “Outcrop,” was sued in 2012 by journalism
professor Ma. Rina Locsin-Afable, who claimed that her reputation was attacked
by a parody column, “Yupiang Yupi,” in the paper. But Judge Cecilia Corazon Dulay-
Archog, of the Baguio Regional Trial Court Branch 6, said Afable failed to prove
that the article was malicious and defamatory, stressing that it made no direct
reference to the professor. “Had private respondent (Afable) not revealed that she
was the person referred to in the said column, the public would have remained
unaware of her identity,” Archog said in her decision. The column was a satirical
discourse about a woman, identified as “Raulo Locaret,” who demanded
“maximum silence” on classroom premises. Afable attributed the column’s subject
matter to a July 19, 2011 incident where she admonished students outside her
classroom who were meeting for a rally and who, she said, were disrupting her
class. Fellow professors and some students said the article was about Afable. One
of the teachers claimed that the column also attacked the reputation of Afable’s
late father, newspaper publisher and editor Raul Locsin. Paquibot said the column
“centered on a message regarding freedom of expression and the right of students
to exercise it.” She said the libel complaint left a “chilling effect” on the student
paper at the time. Veteran journalist and former BusinessWorld publisher Vergel
Santos testified for Paquibot, saying the column was a parody which “portrayed a
situation without causing specific personal harm.” “A conviction for libel where
the private complainant is a public figure must be based on evidence presented
which proves accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt that the libelous
statements were made or published with actual malice,” Archog said. “The
prosecution failed to prove actual malice in the instant case.” Citing a 2003
Supreme Court ruling, Archog also said hurt feelings and offended sensibilities
were insufficient “to create a cause of action for defamation.” Kimberlie Quitasol,
Inquirer Northern Luzon

SOURCE: http://m.inquirer.net/newsinfo/819691