PRESS FREEDOM | After cyberlibel conviction of Baguio journalist, groups renew call to decriminalize libel

December 13, 2022 , 03:28 PM

By Beatrice Puente

(December 13, 2022) – A court in Quezon City on Tuesday handed down a guilty verdict for cyberlibel against a journalist from Baguio in a case that sparked renewed calls from media groups to decriminalize libel.

Frank Cimatu, also a contributor in Rappler, was convicted by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 93 of cyberlibel over his Facebook post five years ago that reads: “Agri Sec got rich by 21 M in 6 months. Bird flu pa more.” He was sued by former Department of Agriculture secretary Manny Piñol.

Cimatu faces imprisonment of at least six months and one day to a maximum of five years, five months, and 11 days, based on a decision signed by Acting Presiding Judge Evangeline Cabochan-Santos. Additionally, he was ordered by the court to pay P300,000 worth of moral damages to Piñol.

Cimatu can still appeal the case to higher courts.

In a statement, Move.PH, the civic engagement arm of Rappler, stressed that a threat to press freedom is tantamount to a threat to democracy.

“An attack on one is an attack on all. No one should be silenced for being critical on the most pressing issues. We stand with journalist Frank Cimatu and we reiterate our call to decriminalize libel,” said Move.PH.

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, who also faced similar charges, likewise expressed her support for Cimatu.

“This is another example of the weaponization of the cybercrime law to harass and intimidate journalists. We stand behind Frank Cimatu, and together, we #HoldTheLine,” said Ressa.

Northern Dispatch also stood in solidarity with Cimatu, who serves as part of its board directors, noting that the ruling “is another blow to the country’s already ailing press freedom and shrinking democratic space.”

Earlier this year, the Philippines slid to rank 147 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index.

Altermidya, for its part, stressed that the court should have been junked over lack of merit, noting that the post did not even name Piñol.

“The court ruling amplifies the climate of impunity already reigning in Philippine society. The case serves as another reminder of how cyberlibel silences critics, even as government officials past and present should be open to criticism in the name of transparency and accountability,” said Altermidya.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) maintained that there was no malice in Cimatu’s Facebook post. The NUJP stressed that the case only proves how “government officials use libel as a weapon to harass and intimidate journalists.”

“The right to free expression and press freedom is paramount especially when exercised in relation to public officials. A powerful politician such as Piñol crying foul over a Facebook post of a community journalist is ironic in a supposed democratic country,” said the NUJP.

The group pointed out that it’s about time to decriminalize libel because it’s not compatible with the Bill of Rights under the 1987 Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

So far, the Office of Cybercrime under the Department of Justice said over 3,800 cases of cyberlibel have been filed since the Cybercrime Prevention Act was enacted in 2012. Meanwhile, the NUJP noted at least 28 libel or cyberlibel cases have been filed against journalists since the middle of 2016.

“Even worse is the fact that penalties for cyberlibel are stiffer compared to ordinary libel. This makes cyberlibel a Damocles’ sword hanging above our head, and reinforces the chilling effect that Filipino journalists need to confront every day in this benighted land,” said the NUJP.

(PM)

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