It's final: ABS-CBN can now be sued for libel over 'stolen footage' claim 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) can now file libel charges before the court against current and former officials and talents of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation. This is in connection with the alleged malicious imputations hurled against GMA Network over video footage of the arrival of former Iraqi captive Angelo dela Cruz in 2004.

 

The Court of Appeals, in a two-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Eduardo Peralta Jr., denied a motion by ABS-CBN seeking a reversal of the court's June 2014 decision favoring a DOJ recommendation for the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office to sue the respondents from ABS-CBN.

 

The denial of the motion makes the CA decision final and executory because second motions for reconsideration are prohibited under Section 5, Rule 37 of the Rules of Court.

"When the Court calibrated the current papers from the parties, we can hardly ignore that the arguments put forward by petitioners on their motion for reconsideration were a virtual echo of the discourse on the petition for certiorari," the CA pointed out in upholding its June 9, 2014 decision.

 

"Withal, the ideas expressed by movants were tackled by us when pre-conditions for defamation were discussed on the decision itself... Accordingly, we hereby deny petitioners' motion for reconsideration for lack of persuasive force," the CA added. 

 

Concurring with Peralta's ruling were CA Associate Justices Magdangal de Leon and Stephen Cruz.

 

It was GMA that originally filed the libel case against ABS-CBN after the latter accused GMA of stealing and airing its live feed of the arrival of Dela Cruz at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in July 2004.

GMA vehemently denied this, saying that the said feed came from Reuters Television Service (Reuters), with whom GMA had a video subscription contract.

 

The libel case was filed against ABS-CBN executives and talents Erwin Tulfo, Lilibeth Frondoso, Lynda Jumilla, Maria Progena Estonillo Reyes, Anna Eugenio, Fernando Garcia, Eugenio Lopez III, Luis Alejandro, Jose Ramon Olives, Jesus Maderazo, Luisita Cruz-Valdez, Jose Magsaysay Jr., and Alfonso Marquez.

 

The DOJ then ordered the QC Prosecutor's Office to file the libel case against ABS-CBN current and former executives and talents, which the petitioners subsequently appealed before the CA. 
 

DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima earlier said that GMA was able to prove that the four elements of libel (defamatory imputation, malice, publication, and indefiability of the person defamed) existed in ABS-CBN’s news reports.

 

ABS-CBN disagreed with the DOJ findings and elevated the matter to the appeals court, which sided with the DOJ in a ruling in June last year. 
 

After the video airing incident, ABS-CBN, in its now defunct shows "Insider" and "Magandang Umaga Bayan" used the phrases, “pagnanakaw ng aming eksklusibong kuha” and “pamimirata ng footage” in their reports on the incident. One report further said “ang pagnanakaw ay isang malaking krimen.”

 

ABS-CBN had earlier filed a separate case for copyright infringement against GMA for the alleged unauthorized use of the Angelo dela Cruz live feed. The case was dismissed by the CA. In a decision dated November 9, 2010, the CA ruled that the airing of Dela Cruz’ arrival video footage by GMA was done in good faith and thus could not be regarded as an infringement of copyrights. - JJ, GMA News