Hayden's mother pleads not guilty to libel charge

Irene Kho, mother of controversial doctor Hayden Kho, on Thursday morning pleaded not guilty on the two counts of libel filed against her by actress Katrina Halili. Halili appeared to be emotional while the information regarding the libel charges was being read to the accused. Mrs. Kho was accompanied by her legal counsel, lawyer Paolo Patajo, while Halili was with lawyer Raymund Palad. The case stemmed from Mrs. Kho’s alleged false and malicious remarks against Halili in two television interviews after the sex video scandal involving her son and several women, including Halili, broke out last year. On May 25 and May 26, 2009, Mrs. Kho alleged that Halili taught Hayden how to use drugs. In her complaint, Halili said Mrs. Kho’s statements "were all calculated to induce the public into believing that the complainant is a drug user and a 'pusher' when said malicious assertions are false and unfounded," and that these were made to discredit her and destroy her reputation. The arraignment pushed through after Quezon City Regional Trial Court branch 85 Judge Luisito Cortez junked the request of the accused to dismiss the case due to lack of merit. Judge Cortez deferred the arraignment of Mrs. Kho last June 3 in view of the pending motion. In their motion, the accused said the case should be dismissed for lack of probable cause and the presumption of malice can be overturned by proof of truth and justifiable motives. They also said that Halili has failed to present evidence that established malice. “Due to the failure of the private complainant and/or prosecution to prove malice, it could not be said that there is sufficient evidence to prove the existence of probable cause since malice is an essential requisite of the crime of libel," the motion of the accused stated. However, Halili’s legal counsel and Assistant City Prosecutor Nilo Peñaflor disagreed. The court already issued an order that concurred with findings of the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office and found the existence of probable cause to issue warrant of arrest against the accused, both parties said in their comment/opposition to Mrs. Kho’s motion. “That the accused’s motion has rendered the same moot and academic and is now too late for the accused to ask the court for re-determination of probable cause," the prosecution said. In denying the motion, the court, after evaluating the documents presented, concurred with the findings of the Department of Justice for the filing of the libel charges. “Whether or not there is an erroneous finding of probable cause or not, it is not the province of this court to interfere with the findings of such office being executive in nature and discretionary in character. They should have elevated the matter through exhaustion of administrative remedies if allowed by the DOJ rules or file a petition for review with the Court of Appeals," Judge Cortez added in his seven-page order. Meanwhile, the court set the pre-trial hearing of the case on August 26. - AOL/RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV