Cebu City fiscals back off from tabloid case
THE Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office withdrew from handling the complaint filed against one of two Cebuano-language tabloids accused of publishing “obscene” columns.
In a Sept. 26 order, Cebu City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon granted Sun.Star Superbalita’s motion for the office to inhibit from the case.
Sellon said that since he is a member of the Cebu City Anti-Indecency Board (CCAIB), which filed the complaint, “we cannot therefore blame the respondents for casting doubt on the neutrality and impartiality of the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office.”
He sent the complaint to Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane, who assigned the case to one of his staff.
Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Ferdinand Collantes will be the one to conduct the preliminary investigation and resolve the complaint against Sun.Star SuperBalita.
CAIB headed by chairperson Lucelle Mercado filed a similar complaint against Freeman Banat News, which is still pending.
Members of the CAIB, a body under the office of the Cebu City mayor’s office, include representatives of the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office, Cebu City Legal Office, Sangguniang Kabataan, Association of Barangay Council and private sector.
“The board, in filing the present case, already determined and decided that the controversial publications are obscene and indecent, serving no other purpose that to satisfy the market for lust and pornography,” Sellon said.
Sellon said the best decision is for the entire Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office to inhibit from handling the case. “Whether we file or dismiss the case, there will definitely be criticisms,” he said.
CCAIB filed separate complaints against Sun.Star SuperBalita and Freeman Banat News after the daily columns “From Junquera with Love” and “Wildflower” continued to appear despite the board’s appeals to their editors and publishers to “tone down” the “obscene” language.
The respondents allegedly violated Cebu City Ordinance 1408 or the Anti-Indecency Ordinance and Article 201 or the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, which prohibits “obscene publications and exhibitions, and indecent shows.” Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol
