Reversal of decision on libel case vs. Minglanilla ex-mayor sought

CEBU – An urgent motion to reverse the recent decision of the Regional Trial Court on the libel case against former Minglanilla Mayor Marlo Cañada has been filed on Friday by the complainants of the case.

The complainants through their counsel, lawyer Manuel Legaspi, have asked the court to reverse its November 12, 2008 decision giving favor to Cañada on the libel case that was lodged against him.

The complainants, incumbent Mayor Eduardo Selma, and the members of the Minglanilla Municipal Council asked the court to reverse the decision and enter a plea of conviction against Cañada and four other employees of the municipal government.

The complainants said that it was “plain error to enter a finding of lack of malice when actual malice was duly established not just by the evidence but by the nature of the acts complained of.”

“The accused likewise failed to impugn the credibility of the witness supporting the information, thereby admitting the prosecution witness fealty to the truth. Affirmative testimony must be deemed to outweigh that which is negative and that no other witnesses other than the accused themselves supported their feeble denial.”

The Regional Trial Court cleared from libel charges Cañada and four other employees of the municipal government —Marilou Nacario, Benito Prangos, Rene Secuya, and Jigger Jose Prajes— for lack of evidence.

RTC Branch 13 judge Generosa Labra said that the prosecution failed to prove that Cañada maliciously issued statements that formed part of a news article, which the complainants said defamed them. Likewise, the prosecution also reportedly failed to prove that Nacario, Prangos, Secuya, and Prajes were the ones who photocopied and distributed the article to the employees of the Minglanilla City Hall.

The article published in Bandera bore the headline “Politika sa Minglanilla, Konseho masuko kay wala paliti og sakyanan, laptop.”

The complainants alleged Cañada maliciously told the Bandera that the town council became mad at him when he opposed the supplemental budget allegedly because it was only a waste of funds.

Cañada was quoted as saying that the budget allegedly included a request for two cars made by Selma and the council, costing P1 million each. A town councilor also allegedly requested for a laptop worth P100,000, which was also included in the supplemental budget.

Cañada was also quoted, as saying that the council engaged in certain questionable endeavors such as the Lakbay Aral Program, which allegedly had each councilor up to P15,000 as share.

But the court said that Cañada only made the utterances if he was not interviewed by the media about the administrative and criminal cases the complainants had filed against him.

Labra said Cañada could not be held liable unless proven that there is actual malice on his part in uttering the alleged statements.

“Instead of proving actual malice on the part of Cañada, the prosecution relied upon proof of the publication of the defamatory utterances of the accused. It failed to present evidence demonstrating that the accused was demonstrated by personal ill-will or spite that he did not act in response to duty but acted merely to cause harm to the complainants,” Labra said in her decision. —Jasmin R. Uy/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)