Senior radio anchor indicted for libel

MANILA, Philippines — A senior radio anchor based in Iloilo province was indicted for libel over commentaries he made in 2007, an online news site reported Wednesday. The News Today (www.thenewstoday.info) reported that Rhoderick "Rod" Tecson of the Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) was indicted for libel based on a complaint by Dr. Evangeline Johnson. Johnson sued Tecson over commentaries over his radio program "Straight to the Point," claiming he insinuated she was being "a devil like Lucifer." She also decried his portrayal of her as "a person with loose morals by having several husbands," and a conspirator "in defrauding patients and Philippine government of millions of pesos in what he called a "scam" and "modus operandi." City Prosecutor II Jeremy Bionat penned the resolution approved by City Prosecutor Peter Baliao. The resolution was dated December 17, 2008 but released only Tuesday. "The utterances the respondent has made over the radio has definitely already satisfied the requirement of public imputation. And such utterances definitely caused dishonor, discredit or contempt of the complainant," excerpts of the 10-page resolution said. Bail is expected to be set at P10,000 for Tecson's temporary liberty. Tecson said he was standing by his story and hinted of appealing the decision. "I respect the judicial process, reason why I duly submitted myself to it. But the fight is far from over as I submit myself to legal options available to me. More importantly, I maintain my campaign and advocacy for decency and accountability in government and non-government dealings. I believe that the public deserves protection," he said. "I stand by my story no matter what it takes," he added. Tecson led the exposé against a longtime scam that hit the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). He based his "cataract scam" on an in-house report of PhilHealth that tagged several private hospitals behind illegal and irregular practices. Johnson, a.k.a. Evangeline Farahmand, is a top executive of a Bacolod City-based hospital named in the PhilHealth report. "Again, this is not the end of it all. The city prosecutors found probable cause, thus elevating the complaint to Court. I reserve my right to present my case and I believe still that truth will set me free – literally and figuratively speaking," Tecson said. He maintained that his commentaries "were all but fair." - GMANews.TV