CA stands by affirmation of Drilon critic’s libel conviction

The Court of Appeals (CA) is standing by its earlier decision affirming the libel conviction of a former consultant-turned-critic of Senator Franklin Drilon in connection with "defamatory" online posts against the lawmaker.

In a resolution promulgated this month, the CA's Former Second Division denied the motion filed by columnist Manuel "Boy" Mejorada seeking the reconsideration of an earlier ruling that upheld his conviction by a Pasay regional trial court.

Mejorada, a former Iloilo provincial administrator, was first convicted in 2017 over articles that linked Drilon to alleged corruption and anomalies in the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center and other projects in Iloilo City.

In the newer ruling, the CA held "there was no compelling reason to arrive at a different conclusion from what was assessed by this Court" as it had already addressed the appellant's arguments in the first decision.

It had sentenced Mejorada to imprisonment of two years, four months and one day to four years and two months for each of the four cases.

The court also said the rules "do not altogether remove imprisonment as a penalty for the crime of libel" even as judges may decide to only impose a fine.

"Presently, the imposition of the penalty of imprisonment in libel cases is a judicial discretion," the ruling stated.

It said the Pasay court was correct in imposing a prison term given the "barrage of defamatory statements" and "baseless and scurrilous personal attacks" he made against Drilon as well as the "ironical and metaphorical language" he used in his posts.

In response, Mejorada said he will bring his case to the Supreme Court.

"With due respect to the CA and the RTC, I believe there was no libel as the element of injury was not established with the failure of Senator Franklin Drilon to testify," he said in a statement.

He said the appellate court's ruling will "send shivers down the spines of journalists."

"Media will be cautious about stepping on the toes of powerful people, and this will result in more self-censorship. It raises the possibility of media being tamed," he said. — MDM, GMA News