SMNI duo ordered to pay TV journo P2M in damages

PUSHBACK TV journalist Atom Araullo shows a copy of the P2-million damage suit he filed against Lorrraine Badoy and Jeffrey Celis, in this photo taken on Sept. 11, 2023. Behind him, at left, is his mother, activist Carol Araullo, and at right is his lawyer, Tony La Viña. —LYN RILLON

A Quezon City court has ordered Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey Celiz, both commentators at Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), to pay TV journalist Atom Araullo a total of P2 million in civil damages for “abusing” their right to free speech when they accused him of being a supporter of the communist insurgency two years ago without any proof.

Judge Dolly Rose Bolante-Prado of QC Regional Trial Court Branch 306 granted Araullo’s demand for reparations over the “grave damage and injury” he suffered from Badoy and Celiz’s defamatory statements made on the SMNI segment “Laban Kasama ang Bayan” and in a video posted on Facebook.

“The exercise of free speech must be based on facts and should not cross defamation,” the court said. “By engaging in Red-tagging, the defendants deliberately sought to discredit and inflict harm on (Araullo).”

Red-tagging refers to the broad allegations made by the military, police and other security officials that brand individuals or groups as either members or supporters of the communist rebels.

The court noted that Badoy and Celiz’s remarks were “aimed at damaging (Araullo’s) reputation and credibility, both as a person and as a journalist, by associating him with the (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines, or CPP-NPA-NDFP) without proof.”

Mother also maligned

Their statements merely generated hatred and threats against Araullo and his mother, activist Carol Araullo, it added.

The elder Araullo was called an “urban infiltrator” and supposedly one of the heads of the CPP-NPA-NDFP.

The court ordered Badoy and Celiz to “jointly and severally pay” Araullo a total of P2.08 million in nominal, moral and exemplary damages as well as attorney’s fees, on an interest rate of 6 percent per year until the amount is fully paid.

In granting Araullo’s claim for damages, the court said the “statements of the defendants disrupted the plaintiff’s family relations and disturbed his mental peace, thereby exposing him to severe stress and anxiety.”

READ: Atom Araullo wins red-tagging civil suit vs Badoy, Celiz

They also caused Araullo “fright, serious anxiety, humiliation and sleepless nights.”

‘Bad faith’ in itself

“Red-tagging, by itself, is a manifestation of bad faith,” the court stressed, adding:

“(Badoy and Celiz) acted grossly and recklessly without regard for truth. Thus, to ensure that such conduct will not be repeated by anyone, the plaintiff must be awarded exemplary damages, in addition to nominal and moral damages.”

With Antonio La Viña as his lawyer, Araullo filed a complaint against Badoy and Celiz in September 2023.

The complaint invoked Sections 19, 20 and 21 of the Civil Code (abuse of civil rights); Section 26 (provisions on respecting a person’s dignity, privacy, personality and peace of mind); and Section 33 (damages in defamation cases). INQ