CA junks petition questioning libel acquittal of 2 broadcasters

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — The Court of Appeals has dismissed a petition for certiorari filed by former Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron questioning a Quezon City court decision that acquitted two Iloilo broadcasters of libel.

In a three-page resolution promulgated on Nov. 19, the Special Ninth Division of the CA dismissed the petition filed by Biron against Judge Maria Luisa Lesle Gonzales-Betic of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) 90 and broadcasters Novie Guazo and Regan Arlos.

The appellate court, in its resolution, noted that “ordinarily,” a decision acquitting the accused in a criminal case could not be appealed.

It also noted that Biron, as private complainant, was the one who filed the petition instead of the Solicitor General as a representative of the government.

“Considering that petitioner ultimately questions the criminal aspect of the case without the Solicitor General’s imprimatur, law and jurisprudence authorize the court to dismiss the instant petition outright,” according to the resolution.

In a 40-page decision issued in July, Betic acquitted Guazo and Arlos from the multiple counts of libel filed by Biron.

Biron had filed the charges in 2017 against the two broadcasters of Radio Mindanao Network-Iloilo for their commentaries purportedly accusing the former legislator of involvement in the dismissal of a police chief in Iloilo.

In her decision, Betic said the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the guilt of the broadcasters and that there was malice.

She said the commentaries of the broadcasters “falls squarely within the bounds of constitutionally protected expression.”

In filing the petition for certiorari as an alternative remedy, Biron had argued that the Betic “clearly acted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction and violated prosecution’s right to due process.”

He said in his petition that the Quezon City RTC  “completely disregarded the prosecution’s evidence showing the existence of all the elements of the crime of libelous committed by private respondents.”

But the appellate court refuted Biron’s assertion.

“A reading of the assailed 40-page decision shows that public respondent scrutinized and assessed the evidence received at the trial,” the court said.

The resolution was penned by Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario and concurred in by Associate Justices Japar Dimaampao and Zenaida Galapate-Laguilles.

/atm