MANILA, Philippines -- Malacañang on Thursday said the arrest of Malaya publisher Amado ?Jake? Macasaet was the ?logical consequence? of the libel suit filed against him by former Rizal governor Casimiro Ynares and Narciso Santiago, husband of Senator Miriam Santiago.

"The service of warrant of arrest on veteran journalist Jake Macasaet is a logical consequence of the pendency of a libel case,? Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said. ?Every working, hardnosed journalist, Jake being one, has his own share of such travails.?

?It is axiomatic that Jake, just like any other accused, enjoys the constitutional presumption of innocence. The judicial process will take over from here on," he added.

But Senator Ramon Revilla Jr., calling for the decriminalization of libel, urged government to go slow on journalists, particularly those identified with the opposition, because of what he said was the rising apprehension among journalists that the administration is "slowly" curtailing press freedom in the country.

"Talagang may mga ulat na lubhang mapanirang puri o lagpas na sa responsableng pagbabalita. Pero hindi ito sapat para sikilin natin ang kalayaan sa pamamahayag [There are indeed reports that are seriously libelous or go beyond the bounds of responsible reporting]," Revilla, chairman of the Senate committee on public information, said in a statement on Thursday.

The "apparent series of arrests of journalists,? the senator said, justifies the need to decriminalize libel to address the "dilemma" of journalists threatened with imprisonment for doing their jobs.

"As a chairman of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, I am pushing in the Senate the decriminalization of libel, alongside with the proposed measures to guarantee an individual's right to reply," he said.

"But right now, the government should take it easy with journalists who have been convicted or accused of libel," Revilla said.