Kalibo councilor sues broadcaster for ‘wiretapping’

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — A municipal councilor in Aklan has sued a broadcaster for wiretapping after he allegedly taped a private conversation without the official’s consent. In a complaint filed before the provincial prosecutor’s office on July 3, Augusto Tolentino, a councilor of the capital town of Kalibo, accused Ma-ann Lachica of violating Republic Act 4200 (Anti-Wiretapping Act), punishable with imprisonment from six months to six years. In his complaint, Tolentino, a veteran broadcaster who currently hosts a radio program, accused Lachica of recording a conversation of the official with broadcaster Rolly Herrera at the session hall of the municipal building in September 2014. Tolentino told the Philippine Daily Inquirer he was unaware that he was being recorded and did not give permission to Lachica, a reporter of Energy FM Kalibo, to  record their conversation. Tolentino’s complaint was an offshoot of an administrative complaint for gross misconduct filed last October by Lachica against the official before the Aklan provincial board. Lachica, 25, told the INQUIRER that she filed the complaint against Tolentino after he publicly berated her at the session hall when he accused her of erroneous reporting and providing wrong information to her station’s anchor. She said she recorded Tolentino berating her, which she said “humiliated and insulted” her. She denied that Tolentino was in a private conversation stressing that many people overheard what the official said. “He could have just called my attention if there was anything wrong with my report instead of maligning me publicly. But I only recorded the proceedings of the session and turned it over to our station,” she said. The transcript of the recording was used as a basis for her administrative complaint against Tolentino filed last October. Tolentino, former provincial chair of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines), had protested what he said was the “erroneous” reporting by Lachica’s station of the alleged irregularities in the payroll of workers during the cleaning and rehabilitation of areas hit by Supertyhoon “Yolanda.” He said he corrected the reporting done by the station and Lachica because his actions were depicted wrongly. “The issue could have been settled within the KBP but she instead filed an administrative complaint that is baseless,” he told the INQUIRER. Both parties said they were willing to drop their respective complaints if the other party issued a public apology.