February 2010 - Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions
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[G.R. No. 188748 : February 10, 2010] ISAGANI YAMBOT, LETTY JIMENEZ-MAGSANOC AND JULIET L. JAVELLANA, PETITIONERS, VS. RENATO V. PUNO, RESPONDENT. :
[G.R. No. 188748 : February 10, 2010]
ISAGANI YAMBOT, LETTY JIMENEZ-MAGSANOC AND JULIET L. JAVELLANA, PETITIONERS, VS. RENATO V. PUNO, RESPONDENT.
Sirs/Mesdames:
Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this Court dated 10 February 2010:
G.R. No. 188748 - ISAGANI YAMBOT, LETTY JIMENEZ-MAGSANOC and JULIET L. JAVELLANA, petitioners, -versus- RENATO V. PUNO, respondent.
This resolves the Motion for Reconsideration dated November 26, 2009 filed by petitioners, Isagani Yambot, Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc and Juliet L. Javellana, publisher, editor-in-chief, and news reporter, respectively of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), to set aside the Resolution dated October 5, 2009 of this Court, which affirmed the Decision dated December 18, 2008 of the Court of Appeals and the Resolution dated July 30, 2001 of the Department of Justice (DOJ), finding probable cause to charge the petitioners with libel.
This Court finds no reversible errors on the part of the Court of Appeals and the DOJ to merit reconsideration. Petitioners reiterate their argument that the allegedly libelous articles printed in the PDI are privileged in nature, and that this fact negates a probable cause for libel. This contention, however, is contrary to jurisprudence.
In the cases of People v. Gomez,[1] Liu Chu Sing v. Lu Tiong Gui,[2] and Binay v. Secretary of Justice[3] the claim that the purported derogatory statement is privileged communication is a matter of defense that can only be proved in a full-blown trial. The fact that the communication is privileged does not mean that it is not actionable; the privileged character simply does away with the presumption of malice, which the plaintiff has to prove during the hearing of the case.[4]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, we hereby DENY the Motion for Reconsideration for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.
WITNESS the Honorable Antonio T. Carpio, Chairperson, Honorable Arturo D. Brion, Mariano C. Del Castillo, Roberto A. Abad and Jose P. Perez, Members, Second Division, this 10th day of February, 2010.
G.R. No. 188748 - ISAGANI YAMBOT, LETTY JIMENEZ-MAGSANOC and JULIET L. JAVELLANA, petitioners, -versus- RENATO V. PUNO, respondent.
This resolves the Motion for Reconsideration dated November 26, 2009 filed by petitioners, Isagani Yambot, Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc and Juliet L. Javellana, publisher, editor-in-chief, and news reporter, respectively of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), to set aside the Resolution dated October 5, 2009 of this Court, which affirmed the Decision dated December 18, 2008 of the Court of Appeals and the Resolution dated July 30, 2001 of the Department of Justice (DOJ), finding probable cause to charge the petitioners with libel.
This Court finds no reversible errors on the part of the Court of Appeals and the DOJ to merit reconsideration. Petitioners reiterate their argument that the allegedly libelous articles printed in the PDI are privileged in nature, and that this fact negates a probable cause for libel. This contention, however, is contrary to jurisprudence.
In the cases of People v. Gomez,[1] Liu Chu Sing v. Lu Tiong Gui,[2] and Binay v. Secretary of Justice[3] the claim that the purported derogatory statement is privileged communication is a matter of defense that can only be proved in a full-blown trial. The fact that the communication is privileged does not mean that it is not actionable; the privileged character simply does away with the presumption of malice, which the plaintiff has to prove during the hearing of the case.[4]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, we hereby DENY the Motion for Reconsideration for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.
WITNESS the Honorable Antonio T. Carpio, Chairperson, Honorable Arturo D. Brion, Mariano C. Del Castillo, Roberto A. Abad and Jose P. Perez, Members, Second Division, this 10th day of February, 2010.
Very truly yours,
(Sgd.) MA. LUISA L. LAUREA
Clerk of Court
(Sgd.) MA. LUISA L. LAUREA
Clerk of Court
Endnotes:
[1] 76 Phil 669, 676 (1946),
[2] 187 Phil 110,116 (1980).
[3] G.R. No. 170643, September 8,2006,501 SCRA 312,323.
[4] Supra note 1.