A radio blocktimer who now airs her program on Facebook has been acquitted by the Court on Appeals over a libel case filed by a police officer in 2017.
Last Aug. 31, 2022, the appeals court’s Fifth Division granted the appeal filed by Janelyn “Jing” Rima in Criminal Case No. 6505, reversing the Dec. 12, 2019 decision of the Regional Trial Court Branch 42 that found her guilty and ordered her to pay a P6,000 fine to the Court as well as P50,000 as moral damages to then PMaj. Charles de Leon.
It may be recalled that the suit arose from a broadcast made by Rima on the Oras Na program on Padaba 93.3 FM radio station on Jan. 23, 2017 between 10 A.M. to 12 noon.
According to information filed before the Court, the accused’s made the highly defamatory statements with the intention to cause dishonor, discredit, contempt and ridicule on the person of Maj. De Leon, then the company commander of the Catanduanes Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC).
The statements, the prosecutor said, maliciously imputed upon de Leon the commission of wrongful acts, including the alleged collection of five kilos of fresh fish each week from illegal fishers in Baras and Caramoran, a similar scheme victimizing those engaged in illegal logging, and using the PPSC headquarters to store narra flitches.
In his complaint, Maj. De Leon said that upon hearing the statements, he felt humiliated and dishonored because as a police officer, he was awarded as the best police provincial officer in Catanduanes in 2016 and regional best officer in 2018.
He also alleged that Rima filed administrative suits against him before the PNP regional office and the National Police Commission which were both dismissed for lack of merit.
During arraignment, Rima pleaded not guilty and later claimed that her comments were said without malice and that she was just telling the truth involving matters of public interest.
She cited as sources PO1 Dan Bagay, who recently received The Outstanding Catandunganon Award (TOCA), and former PO1 Vincent Tacorda.
In her ruling, Judge Genie G. Gapas-Agbada said there is no question that the broadcasts were made public and imputed to Maj. De Leon’s defects or circumstances tending to cause his dishonor, discredit and contempt.
“Taken as a whole, the broadcasts suggest that PMaj de Leon is a corrupt, dishonest, and of ill-repute ranking police officer,” the Court pointed out, adding that Rima should have presented the public issues free from inaccurate, unverified and misleading information.
In filing the appeal, Rima claimed that the Trial Court gravely erred in convicting her of libel despite the prosecution’s failure to establish the elements of the crime beyond reasonable doubt.
In its decision, the Court of Appeals agreed that the two of the four elements of libel – publication of the charge and identity of the person defamed – were present in the case.
However, it said, while the broadcasts had the effect of discrediting de Leon which would naturally cause dishonor, discredit or contempt, however these circumstances alone will not suffice.
The ponente, Associate Justice Ronaldo Roberto Martin, stated that as a member of the media, the appellant enjoys the protection of her freedom of speech and of the press.
“(M)ere inaccuracy is not enough as what must be proven is appellant’s full knowledge that her report was false or appellant’s reckless disregard for the truth,” Justice Martin stressed. “To reiterate, gross or even extreme negligence is not sufficient to establish malice.”
The appeals court stated that while Rima may be clearly found to have been negligent in not inquiring further into the story before broadcasting, her actions cannot be considered at once to be clothed with malice.
“As a media practitioner, she only wanted to inform the public of a police officer’s actual investigation which was somehow ostensibly thwarted by superior officers,” it said. “There was likewise no proof presented by the prosecution to show that appellant was aware that the police officer’s investigation may have been false before she announced it in her radio program.”
The decision was concurred in by Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas Jr., the Fifth Division chairman, and Associate Justice Alfonso Ruiz II.
Also pending at the CA is the motion for reconsideration filed by Tribune publisher-editor Fernan Gianan on the modified decision on the multi-million cyberlibel case filed by Sunwest Water & Electric Co. (SUWECO) which affirmed the guilty verdict of the Legaspi City Regional Trial Court but lowered the fine to P7,500 each and the award of moral damages to P1 million plus P300,00 in attorney’s fees.
Co-accused and former Tribune columnist Rosulo Manlangit did not file a motion for reconsideration on the appeals court decision, which asserted the Legazpi City RTC’s stand that SUWECO is a private corporation despite supplying FICELCO with electricity.
Incidentally, in 2021, the RTC Pasig City Branch 159 dismissed a libel suit filed by SUWECO against Rima for posting an allegedly malicious article on Facebook.
The post claimed that SUWECO was former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s favored contractor and that it was behind the creation of the Ako Bicol Partylist.
The Court, however, said that the FB post cannot be considered defamatory, noting that SUWECO has attained the status of a public figure, thus, the remarks directed against it are considered privileged in view of the constitutional guarantee on the freedoms of speech and of the press.