Journalists to sue Mike Arroyo

JOURNALISTS will soon give First Gentleman Mike Arroyo a taste of his own medicine.

Forty-two out of the 43 journalists facing libel charges filed by Arroyo are filing a class-action civil suit against the First Gentleman. They hope to raise the corresponding filing fees to be able to seek damages of P87 million (nearly US$1.75 million), which, they said, will serve as “a symbolic amount of one peso for every Filipino.”

Malaya publisher Amado “Jake” Macasaet, the 43rd journalist, did not sign the complaint. The journalists’ counsel Harry Roque quoted Macasaet as saying that Arroyo’s suit did not have a chilling effect on him.

Mr. Arroyo will be sued for “abuse of right and violation of constitutional right,” said Roque. The suit will allege violations of Articles 19, 20, 21 and 32 of the Civil Code, which deal with human relations.

Article 32, for one, states that “Any public officer or employee, or any private individual, who directly or indirectly obstructs, defeats, violates or in any manner impedes or impairs any of the following rights and liberties of another person shall be liable to the latter for damages.” One of the rights included is the freedom to write for the press or to maintain a periodical publication.

Marites Dañguilan Vitug, editor in chief of Newsbreak magazine and one of the 43 charged with libel, called on other journalists — including those who are not facing any libel suits — to join the group of plaintiffs.

“The deleterious effects of the filing of these libel cases affects everyone in the profession and in fact everyone in society,” Roque said. He plans to file the case at the Makati Regional Trial Court in the last week of November.

The minimum damages sought by the journalists is P5 million, after the Southeast Asian Press Alliance donated P100,000 for filing fees. Complainants, other media practitioners, and the public are also being asked for donations of any amount. A suggestion to solicit funding from opposition politicians has already been shot down.

Arroyo’s lawyer Ruy Rondain reportedly laughed when he heard of the case.

Roque asserts that Mr. Arroyo is a public figure because he is married to the president, and he occupies a public office, the Office of the First Gentleman. He adds that Arroyo, being a lawyer himself, must be aware that he is filing libel cases against articles which are in fact privileged communication.

Jurisprudence holds that fair commentaries on a public figure on matters of public interest is privileged communication, and thus, cannot be used as grounds to file a libel case.

Roque calls the case a “social experiment,” as it has, to his knowledge, no precedent. He adds that the case also fulfills a prerequisite, as under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, one must exhaust all local remedies before filing a case before the United Nations Human Rights Committee.