Watchdog: Libel suit vs Quezon scribes a 'threat'

A Canada-based media watchdog group branded as a "threat" Wednesday (Manila time) the libel suit lodged by a governor against two journalists who survived an ambush last April. The International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) slammed the libel suit lodged by Quezon Gov. Rafael Nantes in its bulletin on the matter. Charged by Nantes were Delfin Mallari Jr, a Southern Luzon correspondent for the Philippine Daily Inquirer; and Johnny Glorioso, a correspondent for dzMM radio. Glorioso is also publisher of the community newspaper Ang Diyaryo Natin (Our Newspaper). "This is only in the Philippines. After being ambushed, we get sued for libel ... This is blatant harassment. This is harassment to us small journalists here in the province," Mallari said. The complaint claimed that Mallari and Glorioso "maliciously" tagged Nantes as an alleged drug lord in Quezon as well as the mastermind behind the attempt to kill them. IFEX cited a GMANews.TV report as saying that that Nantes, in his complaint, claimed Mallari and Glorioso "purposely issued the special edition of Ang Diyaryo Natin solely to malign, defame, discredit, and dishonor my name and reputation and also to maliciously impute a crime, vice, or defect on my person that tarnished my name and that of my family." A portion of Mallari's column in the community newspaper read: "Congressman Nantes is my principal suspect as the mastermind behind the plot to kill us ... Why do I suspect him of such? Drugs, not politics." Mallari and Glorioso were ambushed last April 19 while on their way to local radio station dwKI for their radio program JS Files. Two motorcycle-riding men fired at them through the driver's side of their vehicle. A bullet hit Mallari's back, only a few inches from his spine. Glorioso was not hit. Inquirer publisher Isagani Yambot then condemned the incident and called it a "blatant display of harassment and violence against journalists." From his hospital bed, Mallari said the attack was the handiwork of hitmen of a Quezon politician who wanted to "silence" him. Mallari recounted that he saw the assailant continuing to pull the trigger after he was hit, but that the gun apparently jammed. After the attack, Mallari left his post as editor-in-chief of Ang Diyaryo Natin and as a radio commentator. Heeding his family’s request, he is now focusing on his job as an Inquirer correspondent. Mallari told the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) that before the 14 May election, Nantes had met with him and Glorioso, and asked them to stop their critical commentaries and instead help him in the campaign. During the meeting, Mallari said Nantes told them: "If I lose the elections, and my name will be destroyed, blood will spill. I cannot stop my men." Mallari said that at one point during the meeting, Nantes asked him to leave while he talked with Glorioso. "Name the price," Nantes allegedly told Glorioso. Nantes denied that he had attempted to buy the two journalists and said that he was only expressing his willingness to finance their radio program. Nantes also denied Mallari's accusation that he was the one who ordered the ambush. Mallari told CMFR that he and Glorioso had criticized Nantes on their radio program and community newspaper because of the drug trade. He said Nantes had always been invited to air his side regarding the issues but the latter had refused since the issues allegedly did not concern him. "If I let the libel suit affect my work, they I will give those people trying to stop me a reason to rejoice," Mallari said. - GMANews.TV