Show biz writer loses libel case vs comedian

The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office has dismissed for lack of probable cause the libel complaint filed by show biz columnist Jobert Sucaldito against comedian and talk show host John Lapuz based on statements the latter made last year in a TV interview.

The case stemmed from an “appeal” Lapuz made to Sucaldito during the Feb. 20, 2011, airing of “Showbiz Central” on GMA 7 network.

In particular, Sucaldito took offense at Lapuz’s statement which went: “Jobert, stop going after me. Stop saying bad things about other people. Stop writing about things that are not true. Have pity on yourself.”

In his complaint, Sucaldito said the statements depicted him as a “character assassin” and a “person without credibility.”

Sucaldito, a columnist of the tabloid Bandera, added that

Lapuz’s statements had affected his work and his dealings with other show biz personalities.

In dismissing the case, Assistant city prosecutor Leonardo Raul Gonzales noted that Lapuz’s statement as alleged in the complaint appeared to “support respondent’s allegation that he was merely imploring complainant to stop writing what he felt were untruthful articles about him.”

“Since it appears that the statements allegedly uttered by the respondent, taken as a whole, [have] a justifiable motive behind [them], respondent may not be held criminally liable for libel,” Gonzales said in his two-page resolution.

Lapuz claimed that his statements, if he ever said them, could not be considered libelous as he was merely appealing to Sucaldito to stop writing untrue things about him.

He added that the complainant was also unable to establish that he indeed made the statement, given that Sucaldito did not attach a video of the supposed interview.