by Evangeline de Vera
Malaya
Journalists who are suing First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo for damages for his propensity to file libel charges yesterday scored a victory after the Court of Appeals turned down anew Arroyo’s bid to dismiss the same damage suit.
The newsmen are seeking P12.5 million in damages before the Makati regional trial court in response to the flurry of libel cases that Arroyo filed since 2003 – 10 against 45 members of the press, a number unprecedented in Philippine history.
All these libel cases that Arroyo filed against the journalists prospered, with the city prosecutor of Manila supposedly finding probable cause to charge them.
In a 23-page decision penned by Associate Justice Sesinando Villon, the CA’s Ninth Division sustained the ruling of Judge Zenaida Galapate-Laguilles in denying Arroyo’s motion to dismiss the damage suit for failure of the journalists to immediately answer the written interrogatories within the extended period.