No (libel) fears

Questionable the court decision may be on broadcaster Leo Lastimosa’s libel case, one thing is crystal clear: it should not send the message that it is open season for the powers-that-be or any person of influence to file charges against media outlets in order to cow them into submission and render them inutile.

We can perhaps distill the main argument posed by Judge Raphael Yrastorza of Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 14 in his ruling that found Lastimosa guilty of libel in this long sentence; there was prior history of Lastimosa criticizing former governor Gwendolyn Garcia for the corruption allegedly committed in the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) project before his now infamous “Doleng Kawatan” column came out in the Freeman.

Granted that there was, the average person on the street would be hard pressed to find substantial, unequivocal evidence that would establish beyond reasonable doubt that the “Doleng” referred to in the column was, in fact, the former governor now congresswoman of Cebu’s 3rd district.

We leave the legal argumentation for another time. Lastimosa can pay the P6,000 fine that would prevent him from doing jail time and he can still appeal the case to the Court of Appeals.

If anything, the ruling was a consolation to both the former governor, who’s now tied with her own graft cases at the Ombudsman in relation to the Balili property purchase and the CICC project and her brother Byron Garcia, who made no effort to hide his “mischievous grinning” at Lastimosa’s fate as it came a few years after he himself was dropped from the Capitol for failing to account for the foreign and domestic donations given to the dancing inmates.

Lastimosa is but one of many broadcasters in Cebu media albeit someone who has established himself in the industry and it is highly unlikely the libel case ruling would sink him anytime soon.

If anything, the ruling should spur the local broadcast industry into becoming more vigilant, more incisive and a whole lot more fearless in its reportage as well as its commentary and analysis of the news.

Amid the continuing legislation to further muzzle the media such as the right to reply bill, the online cybercrime law and the national government’s ongoing refusal to pass the Freedom of Information Act despite exposés like the pork barrel scam, the media profession should soldier and fight on.

With the resurgence of social media and its no-holds barred, open discussion of developments in the country and around the world, the Cebu media industry should serve as the beacon of reason and insight that shines enlightenment in a vastly changing geo-political landscape.