Tribune publisher: Libel conviction another blow to judiciary

MANILA, Philippines - Two days after a Makati judge convicted her for libel, The Daily Tribune publisher Niñez Cacho Olivares kept her defiant stance as she said her conviction is a black eye on the judiciary. Olivares, in her column in the Tribune for June 7, said the decision and the punishment – a jail term and civil damages – bolstered perceptions of a judiciary easily influenced. "In a way, that decision against me and the punishment meted out by the judge merely cemented the global perception of the country having a very weak judiciary, easily influenced politically and an even weaker rule of law," she said. She also branded as "empty" the supposed victory of "The Firm," a group of supposedly politically influential lawyers formerly connected with President Arroyo. Olivares reiterated the Tribune's editorial Friday where she said "The Firm" was overjoyed that the judge meted her the harshest punishment on just one count of libel. The publisher also said she will have her time in "bringing out a lot of other stuff to prove the falsity of their charges, in another courtroom." "But not so fast, boys. Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. That P5 million they speak of donating won't be realized because once out of the Makati RTC, the case goes to the appeals court and all the way to the Supreme Court (SC) and that, as they know, will take a long time, because I will be fighting this case for a long long time. And I intend to win it," she said. She also branded "The Firm" as "pretty dumb" for announcing that the P5 million is to be donated to the Philippine Press Institute. - GMANews.TV