MANILA, Philippines—A Makati judge has dismissed a motion for reconsideration filed by Tribune publisher Ninez Cacho-Olivares, affirming her libel conviction for her reports about the purported corrupt practices of a top law firm.
Judge Winlove Dumayas of the Makati Regional Trial Court on Tuesday said: “The Court is convinced the imprisonment of accused Olivares is the correct penalty.”
Dumayas earlier ruled that Olivares was guilty of libel for her June 2003 stories attacking CVC Law, formerly Villaraza & Angangco Law Offices, also known as “The Firm.”
“The relentlessness of her attacks against the private complainants shows the deep malice animating the accused,” Dumayas said.
“Also her reckless disregard for the truth and utter failure to lift a finger to check her facts smacks of an attitude of irresponsible publication that is abhorred by even the most lenient pronouncements of our Courts,” he said.
The order was dated Sept. 1 but was signed the following day.
Olivares’ lawyer, Alexis Medina, said they had not received a copy of the order denying their motion for reconsideration but added that they intend to bring their case before the Court of Appeals and “all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.”
“We cannot expect to be called a democracy and at the same time send our crusading journalists to jail for daring to write about matters of public interest,” Medina said.
“The trial court committed serious errors of fact and law. Its decision will definitely be overturned, and our sacred right to free speech will prevail,” he said.
On June 5, the court sentenced Olivares to a six-month-to-two-year prison term, and ordered her to pay P5 million in damages. She was allowed to post bail while she exhausts other legal remedies.
The libel case, one of several cases the law firm had filed against Olivares, stemmed from her article titled “Firm’s partners ensure victory for AEDC” which was published in the Tribune on June 28, 2003.
In her article, Olivares wrote that then Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo had tapped lawyers “connected” to the firm to handle a complaint by its client, Asia’s Emerging Dragons Corp. (AEDC), against the winning bidder in a build-operate-transfer contract for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
The articles claimed that Villaraza had demanded $20 million from the German firm Fraport AG, foreign partner of Philippine International Air Terminal Co. (PIATCo), in exchange for solving its legal troubles. The German firm had a falling out with its Filipino partner.
The NAIA 3 contract was nullified by the Supreme Court on May 5, 2003, for being contrary to public policy and disadvantageous to the government.
In her motion for reconsideration, Olivares argued that the court committed 17 errors in its decision, one of which was convicting her for a crime that she had not been charged with in the first place.
She said the charge sheet did not include CVC Law as a party to the case, only the private complainant, F. Arthur Villaraza. She had objected to the court’s acceptance of evidence submitted by CVC Law.
Olivares had also said the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that malice had been intended in writing the story, a requisite element in any libel conviction.
She pointed out that the only statement she said of Villaraza in the questioned article dated June 28, 2003, was that he was the “private lawyer of the President,” which she said was in itself devoid of any defamatory imputation.
CVC Law used to count the First Family among its clients.
In a statement sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, CVC Law said it welcomed Dumayas’ decision.
“We have always been confident of the strength of our evidence against Mrs. Olivares, which the court found, yet again, to be more than sufficient to establish Mrs. Olivares’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt,” CVC Law said in a statement.
“We reiterate our commitment to press freedom and we remain steadfast in our desire to defend and protect its legitimate exercise. We likewise continue to be vigilant against its abuse,” it added.
