Can Duterte Sec. Indict those Critical Reporters with Libel?

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

In the two press conferences held in January 15 and 22, I saw a furious Presidential Adviser for Northern Luzon and Cagayan Special Economic Zone (CEZA) Administrator and Secretary Raul Lambino assailing at his residence in Barangay Gueguesangen in Mangaldan, Pangasinan some members of the print and radio media in Pangasinan and Tarlac. He kept declaring there that he and his wife – Mangaldan Mayor Marilyn Lambino –  will be suing them with strings of criminal and civil cases at the Ombudsman the fabricated ten counts of rapes and maltreatment complaints done by allegedly paid complainants the minor alias Maricar and her mother Rosela Tabano.

To rub insult to injury, the article’s CEZA chief, wife face criminal charges was written by Jerry M. Hernandez in the January 7, 2022 issue of the Manila Times where the correspondent cited as source Prof. Salvador Singson de Guzman of the Citizens Movement Against Crime, Corruption, Illegal Drugs, and Gambling, Inc. This Professor – a favorite informant of controversial local newspaper’s Northern Luzon Star and Manila Times Reporter Jaime Aquino. The group’s incorporating status at the Security and Exchange Commission has been denied by the top Executive there.

The liability of the other broadcasters before the eyes of the Lambinos was their passion and bravado in commenting in their daily radio programs the Ombudsman complaints at the expense of the couple.

A LIVID Presidential Adviser for Northern Luzon and Cagayan Special Economic Zone (CEZA) Administrator and Secretary Raul Lambino (top photo left and clockwise) and the beleaguered media practitioners’ Aksyon Radyo Pangasinan Commentator Joel Balolong, DWIZ Commentator Orly Navarro, and former Manila Times Reporter Jaime Aquino. The Secretary and his lawyers will file a string of criminal and civil charges in the court after he accused them of maliciously besmirching his and his wife’s reputation of the concocted ten counts of rape charges and maltreatment at the Ombudsman.

Lambino told the dozens of reinvigorated reporters – who obviously relished the instant series of press conferences called by a big wig amidst the scarcity of the pressers nowadays - that Jaime and Hernandez have been sacked by Manila Times Publisher Dante Ang for that embarrassing manipulation of a prestigious broad sheet.

In the past, Aquino had scathing exposes against the big bosses of the Department of Public Works and Highway and the National Irrigation Authority by using this alleged fictitious source De Guzman and the Times.

Other broadsheet and provincial reporters and editors who learned how these "enterprising" reporters brazenly manipulated the Times have been laughing on the unwary Ang and his editors who believed line, hook, and sinker those malicious trumped up charges.

Lambino declared incessantly in the two meetings with the press that those who espouses the Ombudsman complaint would be facing criminal and civil charges

“Sino naman itong media personalities dito sa Pangasinan. Iyan si Balolong si Joel Balolong (Aksyon Radyo-Dagupan) na iyan araw-araw. Iyan si Tamayo si Tito Tamayo (DWIZ –FM) si Inciong Tamayo si Orly Navarro (both of DWIZ) iyan mga iyan at iba pa. Kasama iyan sa lahat ng mga iyan ng kanilang YouTube nasa Facebook lahat o whatever nahawak na namin ang mga tapes na ito. Ang transcriptions ng kanilang ni broadcast lalo lalo na sa salitang Pangasinan at Ilocano at Tagalog at iyon iku-collate namin ang mga iyan tapos isasampa ang reklamo laban sa kanila o kaukulang reklamo criminal, civil o combination ng both…”, he told the media practitioners in the afternoon of January 15.

Other reporters he told the press last January 22 that he would charge too were Dante Cera and Dennis Mojares of Aksyon Radyo and Radio Pangasinan, respectively, and his wife’s mayorship rival Mangaldan former Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno and a village chief and an ex-barangay Kapitan whom he said help ruined his and his wife’s reputation.

The Secretary suspected that there is somebody higher and powerful who gave order to these reporters – gee whiz, just like a Puppeteer -  to sow odium and opprobrium to him and his family.

These broadcasters rebutted Lambino that they just read the photo copies of the Ombudsman complaint sent to them. 

That justification will surely be part of their defenses in the strings of criminal and civil charges particularly the Cyber Libel Cases to be hurled against them probably in Metro Manila or as far as Cagayan Valley - the office of the CEZA - as they are still being mulled by Lambino’s lawyers.

Defenses of the Respondents

The beleaguered broadcasters can avail the protection against the criminal libel cases by hiding on “good intention and justifiable motive for making it shown” words on Article 354 as provided in the Revised Penal Code.

Their lawyers will cite privileged communication as implicit on the Constitutional provision on the Freedom of Speech, of Expression, or of the Press’ clause.

They can cite too the classic U.S versus Bustos (37 Phil. 731) against the Lambinos:

Excerpts of that jurisprudence are the following:

·         Complete liberty to comment on the conduct of public men is a scalpel in the case of free speech. The sharp incision of its probe relieves the abscesses of officialdom.

·         Men in public life may suffer under a hostile and an unjust accusation; the wound can be assuaged with the balm of a clear conscience. 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 be exalted.

Grounds of the Complainants

The bevy of the Attorneys of the Lambinos can pray that they chalk up victory of Probable Cause in the Fiscal, er, Prosecutor’s Office and eventually a Resolution from the Judge of the Regional Trial Court to issue a Warrant of Arrest that these tart tongued malicious radio commentators – as the complainants would insist - have been orchestrating with regularity without getting their sides – unlike those customs and practices of TV giants’ ABS-CBN and GMA-7 and Bombo Radyo.

Far Legal Venue

The sweetest revenge the Secretary can win from the Prosecutor and the Judge is the venue of the hearing.

Can it be in Manila or his office in Cagayan Province? Damn, the last one is a 16 hours’ round trip butt aching ride for these pesky reporters to sustain every time they are going to report to the Fiscal or attend their hearing in the RTC there.

What if the Secretary sued them with ten various criminal cases of Cyber Libel and there would be two hearings a week? Son of a gun, that’s an unbearable inconvenience – abala in the vernacular - to these vehicle or bus riding members of the fourth estate unlike the Secretary who could hire a helicopter or avail of a commercial plane in attending the appointment in the court of law there.

 The Cybercrime Law imposed a penalty of one degree higher from the regular libel in the Revised Penal Code. I know this because once upon a time I was charged of the crime too but was eventually dismissed by the RTC. Fellow practitioners gave me plaudits when the Politico- Complainant announced to the media that my co-reporters and I in Northern Watch Newspaper would be sued with this written defamation case. They said it's a badge of honor in my expose' of corruption, teh-heh! 

Regular libel has a penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period, which is from four years, two months and one day to six years’ jail time while Cyber Libel is prision mayor in its minimum period, which is from six years and one day to 8 years’ prison time.

Based on my various readings, the venue if a government official sued a malefactor with this electronic crime - according to Republic Act No. 10175 or Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 - will be the court of the province or city where the offense or any of its elements is committed or where any of the damage caused to a natural or juridical person took place or where any part of the computer system (in Metro Manila where the Manila Times is located – Author), or an electronic document, for example, a post in social media, publication may take on many meanings, like “first viewed”, “first accessed”, or “seen” (say by an employee of the CEZA in Cagayan Province who turns as witness hahaha! – Author).

For the meantime, we political spectators just wait at the sideline and enjoy with our popcorns the brouhahas as they unfold in the video of the social media.

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MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

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I am a twenty years seasoned Op-Ed Political Writer in various newspapers and Blogger exposing government corruptions, public officials's idiocy and hypocrisies, and analyzing local and international issues. I have a master’s degree in Public Administration and professional government eligibility. I taught for a decade Political Science and Economics in universities in Metro Manila and cities of Urdaneta, Pangasinan and Dagupan. Follow me on Twitter @totoMortz or email me at totomortz@yahoo.com.