MANILA, Philippines?The Court of Appeals has upheld the ruling of a Quezon City court allowing the news program Imbestigador to show the entrapment operation against antinarcotics agent who allegedly extorted money from several drug suspects in 2008.

This is regarding the case of Chief Inspector Arwen Nacional of the Makati Anti-Drug Abuse Council who had asked the QC Regional Trial Court to issue a temporary restraining order on Imbestigador?s showing of his arrest by National Bureau of Investigation agents in August 2008.

Nacional argued that those who accuse him of extortion weren?t interested in proving their case in court but were using the media to conduct a ?libelous trial by publicity against him.?

QC Judge Reynaldo Daway on September 5, 2008, denied the petition for a TRO on the Imbestigador?s showing of the entrapment and arrest upholding the show?s rights of freedom of speech and expression.

Imbestigador aired the NBI operation against Nacional on September 6, 2008.

The appellate court ruled that the case was already moot since the episode was already shown on television.

The court, however, still ruled on the merits saying the Imbestigador episode didn?t violate his rights.

?The showing by private respondents of the subject Imbestigador episode does not undermine petitioner?s right to be presumed innocent until the contrary is proved,? the court said.