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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A fate worse than death:
Jailed for serial libel suits

Posted by: Ed Lingao | September 17, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Filed under: General

by Rowena C. Paraan

MA. THERESA Briones thinks it’s bad enough that her father had to spend five years in jail – including two years with hardened criminals – because something he wrote offended someone. But now five libel cases are again hovering over her father’s head, and 22-year-old Theresa can’t help but cry.

Joaquin Briones Jr. is a journalist in Masbate. He was convicted on six counts of libel in 2000, for which he was sentenced to 12 years and six months in jail. After serving almost half of his 12-year, six-month sentence, he applied for and was granted parole in 2005, enabling him to be reunited with his family, which includes Theresa and her four siblings.

Last April 22, however, Masbate Vice Governor Vince Revil filed two libel complaints against Ronnie Valladores, managing editor and columnist of the local paper Masbate Tribune, and Briones as its publisher. More recently, the Masbate Electric Cooperative (Maselco) filed three more libel cases against Briones.

On August 3, Revil also sent a formal complaint regarding Briones. Addressing the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP), the Masbate official asked that Briones be arrested and recommitted due to the new cases allegedly involving him.

Informed and ready

IF FACED with a libel charge, especially if intended to harass and silence critical reports, it would be wise for journalists to take note of the following:

1. Familiarize yourself with the Philippine libel law, including previous court rulings on libel. Also knowing how the legal system works would help you know what to expect and how to deal with the labyrinth called the Philippine judicial system.

2. Know in advance the lawyers who can help you, particularly those who have handled libel cases before. You may also want to get somebody with extensive experience on human rights or media law.

3. If a libel complaint against you has been filed with the prosecutor, file a counter-affidavit stating your good intentions and justifiable motives for writing the article concerned. And the complainant files a reply, then be ready with your own rejoinder.

4. If the prosecutor resolves the complaint in favor of the complainant, you may want to file a Petition for Review with the justice department.

5. The bail for libel case is P10,000 for every count. Have the amount ready if you feel that the prosecutor will decide against you. Once you learn that a warrant has been issued, you can go and post bail, together with your lawyer, without waiting for the warrant to be served. It may also be practical to get a copy of the form for posting bail in advance. Find out in advance as well where you need to post the bail, especially if the warrant is served after the end of the business hours. The point is not to spend a minute in jail and having the form ready and knowing where to go would save time.

6. While the legal steps are important, sometimes extra-legal actions go a long way in pressuring the complainant to withdraw or create a condition that would lead to a favorable decision.

7. Mobilize media organizations for support – local ones like the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and Center for Media Freedom and responsibility, international ones like SEAPA, Article XIX, Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Sans Frontieres.

8. If convicted by a trial court, don’t forget that you only have 15 days to file an appeal with the higher courts. – Rowena C. Paraan, PCIJ, September 2009

“His wanton disrespect of the law by malicious publications is a clear and imminent threat to the welfare of the community,” wrote Revil. “The cases filed were of the same nature as that wherein he was convicted – libel cases. Clearly, the parolee has not shown that he has reformed.” Singled out

The newly established Masbate chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), however, sees the situation another way. In a statement dated August 18, the NUJP-Masbate chapter said the vice governor had “singled out Briones for retaliation, exploiting the vulnerability of the local publisher’s parole to exact vengeance” for the apparently hard-hitting articles directed at Revil in the Masbate media.

It added that the Briones case is a “perfect example of how the high and mighty in Masbate regard the media” and a “telling commentary on the true nature of many of our local politicians, who see public office not as a public trust but a private endowment.”

As it is, the NUJP-Masbate chapter noted, the killings of two journalists in the island province: broadcaster Nelson Nadura on December 2, 2003 and print reporter Antonio Castillo on June 12, 2009 – remain unsolved.

Reports are still coming in regarding the articles that had upset Maselco and moved it to file libel cases against Briones. The pieces that prompted Revil’s recent action, meanwhile, were published in the February 1-7, 2009 and February 8-14, 2009 issues of the Masbate Tribune. They commented on the supposed failure of the vice governor, who presides over the provincial board meeting, to submit to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) the board’s resolution opposing the operation of any form of thermal or coal-fired power plant in Masbate.

According to the column, the reason given by Revil’s office for its failure to furnish DENR a copy of the resolution was lack of printer ink and faulty printer. This failure reportedly led to the issuance by DENR of an Environmental Clearance Certification (ECC) to the project.Tragic prospect

Briones, however, says that he was no longer publisher of Masbate Tribune at the time the columns about Revil came out. As proof, he presents a deed of quitclaim and waiver of rights dated January 30, 2009, which turned over the control of the paper to local businessman Bonifacio Pepito, who had bought the Tribune for P50,000.

PCIJ tried but failed to contact Revil for further comment for this story. Interestingly, NUJP-Masbate says that Revil’s lawyer is his uncle and counsel of Maselco.

Briones, meanwhile, is also moved to tears over the possibility that he could again be thrown back behind bars. But he says he is confident he would be acquitted of the new charges, and even adds that he wants the cases be allowed to run their course – which is quite surprising given his past entanglements with the country’s libel laws.

Briones began his media career in 1996 as a reporter. Then he joined a radio station and later became a commentator in a program he called “Dos por Dos.” By 1998, he had his own newspaper, which he named after his radio program. But he, too, soon received a thrashing of his own – in the form of 13 libel cases.

Then already based in Manila, Briones had to go back to Masbate to attend the twice-weekly hearings on the cases, for which he also hired a private lawyer. But Briones says that he began to notice that whenever he showed up for the hearings, the complainants would allegedly have these postponed. And when he was unable to come, he says, the hearings pushed through — and an arrest warrant would automatically be issued against him because he was absent.

When he was no longer able to afford a private lawyer, Briones turned to the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) for help. One of the complainants however, filed a motion that disqualified him from availing of PAO services.

Frustrated, Briones says he decided to boycott the subsequent hearings. He later found out that he had already been convicted in five cases and that the period for appeal for these had already lapsed.

Instead of running away, Briones went back to Masbate to serve his sentence. While there, Briones was able to attend the hearings for the rest of the cases, among which one resulted in yet another conviction. The remaining seven were dismissed. Powerless vs poderosoBriones says that at the time, no local journalist dared to write a report favorable to him for fear of reprisal from the complainants, who he described as “poderoso (powerful)” and included provincial directors and board members. He says his media colleagues were even wary of visiting him openly.

For sure, Briones is not the first journalist to languish behind bars because of a libel conviction. Among the more prominent cases is that of Davao broadcaster Alex Adonis, who spent almost two years in prison after being convicted of libel charges filed by the current Speaker of the House Prospero Nograles.

Adonis was granted parole in December 2007 for the Nograles case and posted bail in May 2008 for a second libel case based on the same report, but this time filed by the woman said to be friendly with Nograles. Adonis, however, continued to be kept in the Davao Penal Colony.

In October 2008, Adonis issued a public apology to Nograles, who had reportedly demanded such in return for the journalist’s freedom. It was not until two months later, however, that Adonis was able to finally walk out of prison.

According to human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno, criminal defamation laws impugn both individual and collective rights.

“They unduly restrict not just the individual’s right to liberty and expression but also other basic rights as well,” Diokno writes in a piece included in the book Libel as Politics published by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. “The mere prospect of a criminal libel suit, even without actual prosecution and punishment, is itself abhorrent to individual human rights because of its inevitable chilling effect.” A chilling effect

Similarly, criminal defamation has a chilling effect on collective human rights, he says.

Diokno points out as well that the free flow of information on matters of public concern is crucial to maintaining an informed electorate. “Our laws on criminal libel are so broad and sweeping that they make everyone involved in the delivery of information of public concern a potential criminal,” he says.

Still, there has been a bit of good news of late. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court came out with Administrative Circular No. 8, which stressed the high tribunal’s preference for fines rather than imprisonment for those found guilty of libel.

Under Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code, libel is punishable with minimum to medium term imprisonment or a fine ranging from P200 to P6,000, or both, in addition to civil action which may be brought by the offended party.

According to Supreme Court Spokesman Jose Midas Marquez, the High Court decided to issue the circular – addressed to judges — after noting that most libel cases filed were committed with “honest intentions.”

Says the court circular: “The judges concerned may, in the exercise of sound discretion, and taking into consideration the peculiar circumstances of each case, determine whether the imposition of a fine alone would best serve the interests of justice or whether forbearing to impose imprisonment would depreciate the seriousness of the offense, work violence on the social order, or otherwise be contrary to the imperative of justice.”

Meantime, Ma. Theresa Briones says she understands the risks involved in her father’s work. She even says that journalism is a good profession and that she wants to become one herself one day.

Her father, however, strongly objects to her ever practicing journalism in Masbate. He says he would rather die than have any of his children work as a journalist there.

“In such a small place,” he says, “you’re just too vulnerable to harassment.” - PCIJ, September 2009

(Editor’s Note: Rowena C. Paraan is PCIJ research director and also serves as a board member of the NUJP.)

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