Piñol on his libel case victory: Press freedom is not absolute

FORMER Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol considers as a “lesson” his victory in a cyber libel case he filed against a Baguio City-based reporter, adding that press freedom is “not absolute.”

Meanwhile, journalist Frank Cimatu said he would appeal the decision of the Quezon City court that found him guilty of cyber libel over a 2017 social media post he made about Piñol.

In a related development, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) welcomed a move by opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros to file a bill decriminalizing libel.

Piñol said in a Facebook post that the Quezon City court’s ruling that Cimatu was guilty of cyber libel was a “very important lesson on responsible and accountable journalism.” to convict Cimatu over a 2017 post the latter made about him was a “vindication” and a “very important lesson on responsible and accountable journalism.”

“The purveyors of fake news who slander and shame people to the point of dishonoring them and destroying their lives must not be allowed to seek refuge behind a mantle called Press Freedom when called to account for the transgression they have committed,” said Piñol, himself a former journalist and sports commentator.

In a decision dated Dec. 12, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 93 sentenced Cimatu to up to 5 years, 5 months and 11 days in prison, plus P300,000 in moral damages to Piñol.

The case stemmed from Cimatu’s social media post that read, “Agri Sec got rich by 21 M in 6 months. Bird flu pa more.”

The court found the post defamatory because it imputed a crime, making it appear that Piñol was involved in corruption. Piñol said Cimatu’s post “was not only malicious, but also outright erroneous.”

In explaining the P21-million increase in his assets, Piñol said the amount in his net worth did not represent money but “the value of ‘Biological Assets’ I have accumulated through the years in my farm.”