Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court dismisses libel charges against DZBB radio anchor

December 12 2013

Regional Trial Court Judge Esteban A. Tacla, Jr. of Branch 208 of Mandaluyong City dismissed the libel charges against DZBB radio anchor Fernan Gulapa. Super Radyo DZBB 594 kHz is the flagship AM radio station of Radio GMA Network, Inc. Likewise accused of libel was Augusto C. Lagman, former Commissioner of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).

The charges were filed against Lagman and Gulapa following an alleged radio interview on August 4, 2006, in which the prosecution claims that defamatory remarks were made against Mega Pacific eSolutions Inc. (Mega Pacific) regarding the bidding conducted by the COMELEC for the automated counting machine.

Lagman maintains that the court has no jurisdiction over the case as he was in New Zealand at the time the alleged interview took place. He also claimed that there was no malicious intent in the alleged statements made during the interview as they were a fair and accurate report of the issues pertaining to the qualifications of Mega Pacific.

Gulapa, on the other hand, maintains that the prosecution was not able to establish the libel claims since he did not conduct the said interview nor did he make any defamatory statements. Furthermore, the witness testimony and other evidences presented by the prosecution were not able to verify whether Gulapa conducted the interview.

In the decision dated August 22, 2013, RTC Judge Esteban A. Tacla, Jr. ruled the dismissal of the charges on the basis that the statements were a “fair and true reflection of what transpired” and that the subject matter is “of paramount public interest” and in the case of Gulapa, no categorical evidence was presented indicating him as the interviewer.