Libel, no longer a convenient legal tool to harass local mediamen

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
August 16, 2006

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte – Libel can no longer be used as a convenient tool to harass local mediamen.

This, after the House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a proposed measure providing for the venue of the criminal and civil action in libel cases against community journalists, publications or broadcast stations.

The House Bill No. 77 which was authored by Representative Raul del Mar of the first District of Cebu, mandates that the criminal or civil action in cases of libel against a community journalist, publication or broadcast station shall be filed in the Regional Trial Court of the province or city where the principal office or place of business of said reporter, publication or broadcast station is located.

The same bill also provides that the civil action shall be filed in the same court where the criminal action is filed. Under the present rules, the complainant or offended party, if he is a public officer, can file the complaint in Manila if his office is in Manila or in the office outside of Manila if his office is located there. If the complainant is a private citizen, the venue is his place of residence at the time of the commission of the offense.

Thus, a newspaper or broadcast station in Aparri or Jolo, Tacloban or Davao can be made to answer a complaint filed in Metro Manila where the complainant resides although the subject, the issue or the incident published, - in law the cause of action did not arise in Metro Manila.

In this context, the element of oppression is there. The toll of inconvenience, financial or otherwise, is often more onerous and burdensome than the penalty or fine prescribed by the law. This may even lead to a miscarriage of justice in cases where the accused or defendant failed to appear because of the distance and travel constraints.

The need to address this particular concern of local mediamen can never be aptly stressed. The community journalist and his organization, mostly financially handicapped and already afflicted with all sorts of pressures and threats, need immediate relief from the present rule on venue of libel cases, whether criminal or civil, which create an opportunity for oppression.

Hopefully, this bill will also be passed when it reaches the Senate.