CH information officer absolved from libel case

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City public information officer  Florito “Carlo” Dugaduga was recently cleared from a libel suit filed by the late former Butuan City Mayor Democrito “Boy” Daku Plaza II for lack of evidence.

Regional Trial Court Branch 3 Judge Francisco Maclang in Butuan City ordered the dismissal of the more than 10 years old libel case of Dugaduga. The case was filed in 1998 when the city official was yet a radio broadcaster in Bombo Radyo.

“The prosecution failed to discharge its burden of proving malice on the part of the accused beyond reasonable doubt and since it failed to establish express malice on the part of accused by positive proof, its cause perforce must fail,” Maclang ruled.

The June 19, 2013 decision came after Dugaduga filed, through counsel last February 19, 2013, a motion to dismiss citing four grounds.

These include insufficiency of evidence, the prosecution have fallen short of the required quantum of evidence, not enough number of witnesses presented, failure to prove actual malice on the part of Dugaduga given the fact that the deceased complainant was a public official, and that the prosecution failed to show and submit a tape recording of the alleged defamatory broadcast or libelous utterances.

Then a radio practitioner, Dugaduga was accused of calling Plaza a “thief” and “bandit” while the latter was still the mayor of Butuan City. (FREEMAN)