Decriminalize Libel, Media Group Urges
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippine (NUJP) is calling for the decriminalize of the country's libel law, following the arrests on May 7 of Cagayan de Oro journalists Herbie Gomez of Gold Star Daily and Joey Nacalaban of Sun Star Cagayan de Oro.
"Decriminalizing will rid the libel law at least partly, of its repressive element, said the NUJP statement issued on May 8 by Carlos Conde, NUJP coordinator in Davao City."
Gomez and Nacalaban were arrested on the basis of a P5-million libel suit filed against them by Tangub City Mayor Jennifer Tan. An article published by the Gold Star Daily alleged that Tan went to Germany on a trip paid for the State Power Corp., proponent of a coal-fired power plant to be built in Misamis Oriental. But denied the allegation.
The two were released on the same day after filing P10,000 bail bond each.
The filing of the case was meant to "instill fear in the hearts of journalists so that they won't be able to perform their duty to report and criticize official action," said Conde in the Statement.
The Statement. Condemned the detention of the two journalists, and expressed concern over the libel cases being filed "with seeming impunity against members of the Cagayan de Oro media."
More than 50 counts of libel have been filed against station manager Jonas Bustamante of radio station dxCO, because of his commentary against city and police officials, the NUJP statement said, citing a report in Gold Star Daily. "The officials he has been criticizing promised to file 100 more libel cases."
The libel law "has always been used to exact revenge against journalists and to muzzle them. This is done with such impunity that it now appears that vengeance and intimidation are precisely the intent of the libel, not to make responsible citizens out of journalists," the statement added.
The group of journalists said it maintains that "the public, the consumers of news from print and broadcast, are the final arbiters of the media's or journalist's fate. They alone have the right - and the responsibility - to discipline the press not to by filing criminal charge, not by assassination," the statement read.
