Columnist convicted of libel

CEBU CITY, Philippines—A Cebu Regional Trial Court has found columnist Leo Lastimosa guilty of libel filed by former Cebu Governor and now Cebu 3rd District Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia.

Judge Raphael Yrastorza of RTC Branch 14, however, didn’t impose a jail term on Lastimosa, station manager of dyAB and news anchor of “TV Patrol Central Visayas,” a Cebuano newscast of ABS-CBN.

Instead, Lastimosa was ordered to pay a fine of P6,000 and P2 million in damages to Garcia.

The libel suit stemmed from the column written by Lastimosa in the newspaper The Freeman on June 29, 2007. Ador Vincent S. Mayol, Inquirer Visayas