Despite libel suit, journalist launches book about Supreme Court

Unfazed by the libel suit filed by a Supreme Court justice against her, veteran journalist Marites Dañguilan-Vitug on Tuesday launched her book on the internal dynamics of the Philippines’ highest court. Vitug, Newsbreak editor-in-chief, said she expects "intense reactions" to her book Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court because it seeks to shed light on the members of the judiciary, which, compared to members of other government branches, are slightly protected from public scrutiny.

"There will be hate mail as well as show of support; applause as well as anger. Some will ascribe motive as to why I wrote the book, the timing of its release, and the positions I took," Vitug said in her remarks at the book launch in One Serendra at Taguig City. Interviewed by reporters after the program, Vitug said she actually expected SC Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco to file a libel suit against her for the book, and not for the series of articles she wrote about him that was published online. "I thought it would come after he has read the book," Vitug said. "I was told that he was very displeased, was very unhappy but I expected the libel suit based on the book so I was surprised that it was based on my online article." In his 10-page complaint filed last week, Velasco said Vitug violated the Journalists’ Code of Ethics for allegedly indulging in a “vicious smear campaign" against him through a serialized article called “SC justice in Partisan Politics." The article, which came out on the Web site abscbnnews.com/newsbreak for 13 consecutive days, alleged that Velasco tried to wield his influence over several local officials in Marinduque province to support the congressional bid of his son, Lord Allan. Vitug maintained that what she wrote about Velasco and the rest of the Supreme Court were products of painstaking research, and that her intention was only to shed light on the judiciary. "I want the public to know what's happening in the Supreme Court. I want them to understand this institution because only by understanding it could they watch it, could they be vigilant," said the journalist. She did not expect the issue of Supreme Court appointments to be so controversial when she began writing the book last year. She added that she had the book launched two months before the elections because she wanted judicial reform to be part of the agenda. Vitug expressed disappointment at the pull-out of Anvil Publishing, which was initially supposed to publish and distribute "Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court" through National Book Store, upon the advice of the company's lawyers. But she said she was "learning to cope" with the situation. The book, which was eventually published by Newsbreak, is available at the UP College of Law, La Solidaridad bookshop, Popular bookstore, and soon, Fully Booked. Among the guests at the well-attended book launch were former judiciary members, lawyers, and politicians including former President Fidel V. Ramos, former SC Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, former Senate President Jovito Salonga, and retired SC justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez. Salonga is the founder and adviser of Bantay Katarungan, a judicial watchdog group. Gutierrez said she hopes Vitug's book would be the "sunlight" that would "disinfect" the Supreme Court, while Salonga called the Judicial and Bar Council, which nominates appointees to the Supreme Court, as an "old boys' club." - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV