Philippine Daily Inquirer

Radio broadcaste­r in Davao del Sur faces 255 counts of libel

- By Eldie Aguirre Inquirer Mindanao

DIGOS CITY—A radio broadcaste­r here is facing a string of libel charges, 255 cases as of Thursday, for allegedly besmirchin­g the reputation of several individual­s, including a former vice governor and the wife of a fellow broadcaste­r.

Arvin Malaza, who also owns Muews Radio, had sought the assistance of the National Union of Journalist­s of the Philippine­s (NUJP) over the filing of charges against him.

NUJP sources said Malaza, also known as Jun Blanco, had claimed that he was being harassed for his work as a journalist and that his station was shut down.

Malaza’s trouble started in early August when he made former Davao del Sur Vice Gov. Arsenio Latasa the object of his criticisms. He started accusing Latasa, also a former mayor of this city, of enriching himself while in office.

He cited Latasa’s “mansion and Olympic-size swimming pool,” but offered no further proof as to how the former official supposedly amassed these assets.

Malaza also insinuated that Latasa, whom he called names on air, was behind the killings here of suspected criminals when he was mayor from 1992 to 2010.

On Aug. 26, Latasa filed the first 50 counts of libel against Malaza at the city prosecutor’s office. He said these were based on the number of times the baseless criticisms were aired.

“The broadcast was replayed several times over, during which he uttered personal and abusive tirades against me,” Latasa said.

He said Malaza continued criticizin­g him. “On Aug. 27 alone, he devoted all three hours of his program to malign me,” Latasa said.

The former official had filed the other cases on Aug. 27, 28 and 31.

As of Thursday, Latasa had filed 255 counts of libel at the city and provincial prosecutor’s office against Malaza, citing among other reasons Malaza’s insinuatio­ns he had an affair with the wife of another broadcaste­r and probably had fathered a child with her.

The wife of the broadcaste­r, on Sept. 9, also filed at least 11 counts of libel against Malaza at the city prosecutor’s office.

The INQUIRER also learned that another local broadcaste­r, Ma. Ana Sumatra, sued Malaza for calling her names.

Sumatra also filed a complaint against Malaza in the National Telecommun­ications Commission (NTC) for operating Muews Radio without a broadcast license. Muews Radio’s broadcasts are also aired on cable television. Last week, the NTC implemente­d a June clo- sure order against the station.

Rowena Paraan, NUJP secretary general, confirmed that Malaza had sought the group’s help. “He did …. NUJP has a standing position on criminal libel in general. We oppose it. And filing 200 counts is a bit much,” she told the INQUIRER.

She said the group’s directors “have not made a decision on how to respond” to the issue yet, but assured him that NUJP would look into the case.

Sumatra urged NUJP should investigat­e Malaza’s claim before acting on it.

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