Mike Arroyo not shaken by SC ruling on journalists' suit

The camp of First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo on Monday shrugged off the Supreme Court's decision allowing a Makati court to proceed with the hearing of the P12.5-million class suit filed against him by several journalists. In a report in GMA News' "24 Oras," Mr. Arroyo's lawyer Ruy Rondain said they are confident that they would win the case, saying they have long been prepared for the court hearing. He, however, admitted that they were disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision. "I was a little disappointed because I felt that the case was strong, but the Supreme Court so decided. That's the prerogative of the Supreme Court. It's nothing earth-shaking really, because we have not gone to trial," Rondain said.

The case stemmed from the class suit filed by some 39 journalists and media organizations in 2006 in connection with the slew of libel cases Mr. Arroyo filed against them starting 2003. The First Gentleman, who eventually withdrew the cases, was reacting to several allegedly critical news reports against him. Journalists, meanwhile, were elated with the high court’s decision, saying it sends a signal to government officials that they cannot “harass" the media by filing libel cases against reporters. "The decision is good, not only for the incoming national administration, but for all government officials, that you can't use libel to harass journalists," said Rowena Paraan, treasurer of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), one of the media organizations that signed the class suit. She added that they are hoping that the court will also look into decriminalizing libel, so it may not be used to pressure journalists into submission. - KBK, GMANews.TV