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Thursday, September 18, 2008
Posted: 17 Sep 2008 08:50 AM CDT
Tabloid columnist, editors found guilty of libel
Ordered to pay over P1M in fines, damages
By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 19:44:00 09/17/2008
MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court has found columnist and former television anchor Erwin Tulfo guilty of libel for throwing “wild accusations” against a Customs official nine years ago.
In a 31-page decision, the high court second division also affirmed the libel conviction of Remate managing editor Susan Cambri, national editor Rey Salao, city editor Jocelyn Barlizo, and Philip Pichay.
They were ordered to pay jointly and severally lawyer Carlos “Ding” So of the Bureau of Customs-Intelligence Unit P1 million in moral damages for a series of articles that appeared in the tabloid Remate in 1999.
The high tribunal took note of Tulfo’s admission he wrote the damning stories against So without verifying the veracity of the information given him by his source.
“Journalists have a responsibility to report the truth, and in doing so must at least investigate their stories before publication, and be able to back up their stories with proof,” it said. “The rumors and gossips spread by unnamed sources are not truth.”
“Journalists are not storytellers or novelists who may spin tales out of fevered imaginings and pass them off as reality. There must be some foundation to their repots; these reports must be warranted by facts,” the high court added.
In his column “Direct Hit,” Tulfo accused So of massive corruption and extortion activities at the South Harbor where the Customs official allegedly amassed wealth.
In the articles that came out May 11, 12, 19 and June 25, 1999, Tulfo also theorized that So could be the richest government official and went on to say the lawyer was a disgrace to Iglesia ni Cristo.
So, in his libel complaint filed before the Pasay City Regional Trial Court, said his reputation has been tarnished because of Tulfo’s accusations.
On November 17, 2000, the lower court found Tulfo and his editors guilty of libel and sentenced them to a “prison correctional in its minimum and medium periods” or two years, four months and one day to four years and two months.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court ruling.
But while it upheld the appellate court’s decision, the Supreme Court reduced the penalty to a fine of P6,000 for each count of libel from Tulfo and the five Remate officials, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency. The award of actual damages and exemplary damages was deleted.
The high tribunal rejected Tulfo’s argument of privileged communication and his defense that the stories he wrote spoke of “fair commentaries on matters of public interest.”
The high court said Tulfo did not exercise good faith in exercising press freedom.
“This is no case of mere error or honest mistake, but a case of a journalist abdicating his responsibility to verify his story and instead misinforming the public,” it said.
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SONA 2008 Webcast
PGMA’s SONA 2008 to center on subsidy, electricity, food production & infrastructure – Ermita
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) this year will center on government’s subsidies for the poor, electricity, food production and infrastructure.
This was revealed this afternoon by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita who also said that the President will “gauge whether enough has been achieved” in the above-mentioned areas.
Ermita -- who is also the Presidential Spokesman in concurrent capacity following the transfer of former Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye to the Monetary Board – said the President is now in possession of “accompanying documents” from agencies to help her craft her SONA 2008.
“She will go over it, grade it (the set of documents)…” said Ermita.
The hands-on President has been “going through this (SONA preparation) many times,” said Ermita, adding that yesterday, President Arroyo discussed the content for the latest SONA for over two hours.
Ermita said the President will center on subsidies, electricity, food production and infrastructure, specifically “to what extent these have been achieved.”
President Arroyo will also touch on the roll-on, roll-off (RORO) of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SR-NH), and balancing the budget.
There will be both “mid-range and long-range” items, said Ermita, adding that the President will also touch on highways, airports, seaports, plus the electrification of all barangays.
The President’s Ten-Point Agenda are as follows:
1. The creation of six million jobs in six years via more opportunities given to entrepreneurs, tripling of the amount of loans for lending to small and medium enterprises, and the development of one to two million hectares of land for agricultural business;
2. The construction of new buildings, classrooms, provision of desks and chairs and books for students and scholarships to poor families;
3. The balancing of the budget;
4. The "decentralization" of progress around the nation through the use of transportation networks like the roll-on, roll-off and the digital infrastructure;
5. The provision of electricity and water supply to barangays nationwide;
6. The decongestion of Metro Manila by forming new cores of government and housing centers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao;
7. The development of Clark and Subic as the best international service and logistic centers in the region;
8. The automation of the electoral process;
9. A just end to the peace process; and
10. A fair closure to the divisiveness among the Edsa 1, 2 and 3 forces.
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