vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 3 months, 4 weeks ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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Libel a ‘battering ram’ vs press freedom

Posted by: Avigail Olarte | March 8, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Filed under: In the News, Media

THE arrest of Newsbreak online coordinator and writer Gemma Bagayaua over a P100-million libel suit is described as the latest of the series of attacks against press freedom under the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The New York-based media group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) denounced the arrest and criticized “authorities in the Philippines” for “using criminal libel as a battering ram against press freedom.”

The libel suit of Ilocos Sur Governor and administration senatorial bet Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson against Bagayaua and four other Newsbreak editors and journalists follows the flurry of libel charges against journalists in the country today.

Arroyo’s husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel ‘Mike’ Arroyo, has filed similar suits against 46 journalists, prompting media groups to call on Mr. Arroyo and the President to stop harassing journalists and using “an antiquated libel law as a tool to silence criticisms.” Mike Arroyo has sought a total of P141 million in damages.

“Government officials should not rush to a prosecutor every time a journalist writes critically about those in power,” CPJ executive director Joel Simon said.

Newsbreak staff and its other writers alone face two other libel suits. One stems from an article on the family’s alleged undisclosed properties in California. Another case was filed against Mia Gonzales for writing an article in the magazine about Mr. Arroyo’s “perceived crookedness and perceived influence in governance.”

“The message we’re getting is this: no matter how responsible journalists are, you can no longer seek protection in the law,” Newsbreak editor in chief Marites Dañguilan Vitug said in an earlier statement.

University of the Philippines law professor Harry Roque said the arrest of Bagayaua is indeed “a clear case of using libel laws to suppress press freedom.”

Roque said the fact that the warrant was served in the afternoon, at a time when judges are normally no longer around, meant that “it was their intention” to detain her.

Bagayaua had to spend a night at the Pasig City police station after her lawyer failed to post bail. She was released after 21 hours in police custody. The others who were charged — Vitug, business editor Lala Rimando, senior writer Aries Rufo, and former managing director Ma-An Hontiveros — posted bail today.

Roque added that “the country needs another Alston,” the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in the Philippines, to visit and examine the use of libel laws here. (On the UN website, the Philippines remains in the list of countries yet to be visited by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.)

Roque explained that under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Philippines, being a party, is obligated to uphold the rights covered by the covenant.

Article 19 of the ICCPR states that “everyone has the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of choice.”

When any of the said rights are violated, complaints may be elevated before the UN Commission on Human Rights, provided that all domestic remedies had been exhausted.

Roque, who is also the lawyer of the group of journalists and press freedom advocates who filed a suit against Mr. Arroyo, said the case will definitely be elevated before the international community should the local courts dismiss the petition.

In the civil class action suit, to which the PCIJ is a party, the plaintiffs assert that Mike Arroyo is abusing his right to litigate and is violating the freedom of the press by the “barrage of malicious libel suits” against journalists.

The journalists based their arguments on the doctrine of fair comment, which holds that “fair commentaries on matter of public interest are privileged communication and are not necessarily actionable.” (See Borjal v. Court of Appeals)

Another important jurisprudence is U.S. v. Bustos, where the court ruled that “a public officer must not be too thin-skinned with reference to comment upon his official acts. Only thus can the intelligence and dignity of the individual can be exalted. The public officer may suffer under a hostile and unjust accusation; the wound can be assuaged with the balm of clear conscience.”

Decriminalizing libel

In an earlier statement, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) said that the Philippines, “as one of the rare havens for democracy in the region, and as party to the ICCPR,” should “set a higher standard with respect to human rights, of which freedom of expression is paramount.”

SEAPA also said that beyond the court case of Mr. Arroyo, the Philippine legislators must decriminalize libel.

Under the Revised Penal Code, penalties for libel range from a fine of P200 to P6,000 (US$4 to US$110) and imprisonment of at least six months to a maximum of six years.

Article 353 defines libel as “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 discredit or cause the dishonor or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.”

According to Roque, Congress has not made any move to decriminalize it. The latest attempt came from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, a coalition of more than 600 journalists, and 30 local and foreign international media organizations when it issued a joint petition calling for the decriminalization of libel.

ARTICLE 19, a human rights organization engaged in the promotion of freedom of expression worldwide, said that criminal defamation laws are often abused by those in power to limit criticism and stifle public debate.

“The illegitimacy of the use of criminal defamation laws to maintain public order, or to protect other public interests, has already been noted. For these reasons, criminal defamation laws should be repealed and replaced with civil defamation laws,” it said.

The Philippines, together with Thailand and Cambodia, are among the countries in Southeast Asia that have yet to decriminalize libel.

For more information on defamation, read ARTICLE 19’s international standards series here. Or download “Defining Defamation, Principles on Freedom of Expression and Protection of Reputation.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 8th, 2007 and is filed under In the News, Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 people have left comments

Libel is a harassment tool of GMA and her gang to intimidate or complicate principled critics of her corrupt regime. I suggest you harness the power of TRUTH and of the PRESS to expose GMA’s true anti-people/anti-democracy color to the people thru media and other friemds in media. Let’s remind the people of her fake presidency and why she must go by electing those opposing her administration. We cannot remain divided, myopic or selfish as to forget the bigger picture and real enemy and, by being divided again, let her have her way again just like in 2004. Let’s take off from the steam last year that almost “tsunamied” GMA out of office. Let’s remind the people of the issues against her… Garci election cheating scandal, the call for truth by CBCP which GMA ignored, the brave testimonies of the Marine General/Col, the Manila Hotel 10, the calloused shameless JDV Congress blocking GMA’s impeachment, the military sponsored indiscriminate killings of media practitioners and activists… etc. There are so many issues against GMA and her gang last year which nobody now ever reminds the people of. Let’s remind the people and PCIJ can champion this crusade. Kung walang kikilos, sino! Let’s concentrate on ousting her by electing enough opposition congressmen and senators. That’s the start, and once impeached, we can concentrate on electing the next better president. This is the opportune time to bring down GMA and her shameless political group who looked upon us all as the forgetful or short-memoried pygmies who are no match to their wickedness and wretchedness. Chavit Singson, MIke Defensor and their likes with the gall to run for senators! Wow what an ultimate insult to the Filipinos’ last straw of dignity. Please… please… take the lead PCIJ!!!

Simon wrote on March 10, 2007 - 12:33 am | Visit Link

what can we expect from a warlord like chavit singson? why he survives today in the political scene in the philippines with some credibility intact is fascinating. is it a fault that can be blamed on the filipino’s easy to forgive attitute. here is a criminal who admitted to conspiring to steal from the tobacco farmers of the ilocos region and being a bagman for jueteng operations, he is now running for senator. although redeeming himself for coming out as a star witness for the prosecution of a fallen president, he is also not without fault. it is important to remember that he was purportedly targetted first for a rubout by the group he ratted against before he went public with the now famous allegations. the forgiveness he should be given is to retire in obscuration, not rewarded with honors and positions of importance.

Troy Fabunan wrote on March 10, 2007 - 1:45 pm | Visit Link

I don’t really grasp a point here why this government is pushing hard to put these journalists in jail. I believe these journalists are basing their reports on facts and not just mere fiction nor hallucination. Where is now our press freedom here? Do they really know that investigative journalism is a part of our human rights to look for any anomalies in the government. There should be a “check & balance” on their job. And whos’ job can look for the issues that is detrimental to our government mis-management? These are only by our independent yet brave journalist who can un-cover their anomalies.

It’s just surprising to me that this is the first time in the history of the press freedom in our country that this GMA government is really nuzzling to harass & prosecute our journalists. This government even surpassed the Marcos era in prosecuting the journalists. Would these journalists endangered their lives if their reports are not true & unfounded? PCIJ is only the real and undaunted information we can have these days to look for the wrong-doings of this administration. And I really believe that PCIJ gives us the real picture of this GMA administration.

kim wrote on March 10, 2007 - 4:02 pm | Visit Link

[...] “Dropping the charges may ease the conscience of Mr. Arroyo as he intended it to be. But freedom of the press should not be held hostage by any individual’s whims or perceived affront to his person, character or dignity,” Macasaet said. The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) welcomed Arroyo’s statement, but said that it would rather credit journalists for pushing back, instead of the First Gentleman for any change of heart. [...]

INSIDE PCIJ » Journalists welcome, criticize Mike Arroyo’s dropping of libel cases wrote on May 3, 2007 - 8:38 pm | Visit Link

[...] writes critically about those in power.” The situation has also led a Filipino editor to say: “The message we’re getting is this: no matter how responsible journalists are, you can no [...]

Filipino bloggers should help ‘decriminalize’ libel | Rising Sun wrote on January 26, 2010 - 2:02 pm | Visit Link