Party-list solons back out from bill amending libel law

MANILA, Philippines - The militant bloc in the House of Representatives on Monday withdrew their authorship of a measure that supposedly consolidates bills decriminalizing libel after finding that the recently-approved measure did not reflect their original proposal. In a letter to House rules committee chair and Majority Leader Arthur Defensor Sr., progressive party-list Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna, Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela, and Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis withdrew their authorship of House Bill 5760 - the consolidation of bills decriminalizing libel - because it did not carry the intent of the bill they filed. "HB 5760, which does not decriminalize libel but is intended to reform the law, is a direct anti-thesis to our original bill, HB 3535, which aims to delete libel from our criminal statutes," the lawmakers said. HB 5760 was approved on second reading on Wednesday last week. Instead of taking out imprisonment as a penalty to libel, HB 5760 further increases the fines for libel, the lawmakers said. According to the militant lawmakers, the only parts of HB 5760 that improved the current libel law are the provisions on the venue and liability of editors, which say libel cases filed against community media practitioners shall be handled by the Regional Trial Court of the province or city where the principal office of the accused journalist, editor, business manager, and publisher is located. Only editors who approved the allegedly libelous stories can also be held liable under HB 5760. The lawmakers reiterated that libel should be decriminalized because personal injury caused by a defamatory story "constitutes a cause of action for civil damages but not for criminal prosecution," adding that public funds and the criminal justice system "should not be used to vindicate a private reputation." Additionally, those responsible for making libelous statements against the government can already be held liable under the provisions in the Revised Penal Code defining rebellion or sedition, they said. "The crime of libel has been used as a tool for repression, particularly against the media...Most importantly, the crime of libel violates the constitutional right to press freedom and presumption of innocence as it constitutes prior restraint and places the burden of proof on the accused," the lawmakers said in their letter. They also pointed out that they were not informed of or invited to any Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting to reconcile the differences of the various bills on the matter. Following its approval on second reading, House Speaker Prospero Nograles said HB 5760 will "go hand-in-hand" with the controversial Right of Reply bill, which is being opposed by various media organizations because it requires the publication or broadcast of replies of personalities accused or criticized in news reports. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV