Int'l media watchdog urges release of ex-Bombo Radyo anchor

A New York-based media watchdog group on Thursday (Manila time) urged the release of a former radio commentator jailed in the Philippines for libel charges. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) maintained that jail terms, like that slapped on former Bombo Radyo commentator Alex Adonis, could lead to self-censorship across all media outlets. “We are gravely concerned about the jail sentence handed down to radio commentator Alex Adonis. Jail terms are never appropriate recourse for libel convictions and could lead to self-censorship across all media outlets," CPJ executive director Joel Simon said in a statement posted on the CPJ website (www.cpj.org) Thursday morning, Manila time. Adonis, a former commentator of dxMF Bombo Radyo, is serving four and a half years in prison on criminal libel charges in Davao del Norte province. The jail term stemmed from libel charges lodged against him by Davao First District Rep. Prospero Nograles Jr. in October 2001. Nograles’ libel suit stemmed from a series of exposes and critical commentaries carried on Bombo Radyo entitled, “Burlesque King." Nograles denied the allegations. CPJ noted that Adonis, 43, failed to defend himself in court due to his inability to pay for lawyers’ fees. Adonis also had a hard time commuting 500 kilometers between his home and the presiding court in Davao. “The verdict against him was promulgated in absentia in February and he was arrested and detained at a public market in Davao City on February 19, 2007," it noted. Adonis’ co-defendant Dan Vicente, the station manager of Bombo Radyo in General Santos City, was acquitted because the prosecution’s main witness died during the hearings, according to information compiled by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). On the other hand, the CPJ noted Philippine politicians have “increasingly resorted to criminal libel lawsuits to stifle critical news coverage of their activities." CPJ noted that First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo as having filed at least 43 criminal defamation cases against journalists in 2006 alone. Several of the charges were related to newspaper reports that he attempted to rig the 2004 presidential elections in his wife’s favor. Arroyo has denied the charges. - GMANews.TV