MANILA, Philippines?Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) president and general manager Winston Garcia on Monday filed libel cases against seven journalists and the chair of a militant teachers? group in the Pasay City Prosecutor?s Office.

Garcia filed separate cases against columnist Federico Pascual and opinion editor Ramon Lim of the Philippine Star, columnist Dan Mariano and editor in chief Rene Bas of Manila Times, and opinion editor Lyn Ressureccion and columnists Lito Gagni and Raul Valino of Business Mirror.

Also named a respondent was Antonio Tinio, chair of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).

Garcia said Tinio was quoted by the columnists as saying the GSIS?s sale of its 27-percent stake in Manila Electric Co. to San Miguel Corp. placed public schoolteachers and other GSIS members at a disadvantage.

Garcia said the opinion columns which came out on Nov. 5 following the stock sale on Oct. 27 accused him of insider trading, making P3 billion in commissions on the deal, and being in a conflict of interest situation since he also sat on San Miguel?s board.

?This is confederated libel committed by different columnists writing practically the same unfounded allegations against the GSIS,? said Garcia in a statement he issued after filing the cases.

He said that contrary to the articles, the sale was a very good deal for the GSIS and its members.

He said he sold the Meralco shares for P90 each when they were trading at P44 in the Philippine Stock Exchange.

He said the sale totaled P30.8 billion, of which P27.09 billion was the principal amount. The balance of P3.76 billion was not a commission but interest payable to the GSIS over the three-year payment period, Garcia said.

As for the other issue, Garcia said: ?How can there be a conflict of interest when no personal benefit could be shown to have been derived by me from the sale of the shares??

Lucio Yu Jr., one of Garcia?s lawyers, said they would file similar cases against other journalists. Yu, however, declined to identify them.

?We are still reviewing other newspaper columns and stories written about the GSIS-SMC deal,? he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Marlon Ramos and Michelle V. Remo