Campaign, libel and all that jazz

WHEN boredom sets in after the hearing, reading and watching all the dramatics about Maria Ressa’s libel and tax evasion case, try focusing on what’s happening in the senate campaign trail. It’s more exciting and comic. What could beat “sexy”, “pogi” and “tanda”, all facing plunder cases seeking re-election and Pres. Rodrigo Duterte telling ousted Speaker Bebot Alvarez “sorry” he cannot stop daughter Davao City Mayor Inday Sara from ousting him. Asked why he is voting for Bong Revilla, an elderly quipped: ”ang guapo kasi”. In Davao del Norte, Bebot’s propagandists tweaked Duterte’s joke declaring that the President has apologized to the ex-speaker.

If that can evoke laughters, this one can draw tears. “Otso Deretso (OD)” inspires classic parodies like: Otso Deretso sa poso negro, Otso Deretso zero and Mar Roxas goes on solo.

Hugpong ng Pagbabago which is chaired by Mayor Inday Sara continues to draw huge crowd in all their sorties while OD is drawing flies which gives additional tickler to the jab that they are consigned to the septic tank. Actually, that attribution is quite unfair. I would blame it to their choice of a campaign manager, Kiko Pangilinan, whose juvenile delinquency law is a big factor why thousands of minors are involved in crime. I don’t think his wifey Sharon Cuneta, a diehard, Duterte fan, will allow herself to be used as campaign attraction for the OD, 8 which is now down to 7. Even Leni Robredo or Noynoy Aquino has yet to go out and campaign for the beleaguered 8-1. Leni is scared she will pale in comparison to the feisty Dabawenya when it comes to attracting people. I have yet to hear a campaign pitch from Robredo for Romulo Makalintal -- her lawyer in her Comelec case. It’s either she believes her lawyer will not win or he thinks an endorsement from the VP will draw negative vibes from his campaign.

This year’s midterm elections is a war of trolls. You find them in Philippine Daily Inquirer and Rapplers’ post. Employing trolls to denigrate a candidate is cowardice and using these to promote a candidate is stupidity. Crucifying one self over a case of libel and tax evasion will not create another story of Golgota especially when no crown of thorns is forced into one’s swelling head. For a country like the US of A whose Internal Revenue Service sends a tax evader to jail or slap the dodger a stiff fines, it should be the last intruder in the community of nations to lecture on the Philippines to go slow on one accused of a lesser crime of libel...and tax evasion. My gosh this is not the first time a journalist or a private person is accused of libel in the Philippines. This is not the first time that a person or a company is accused of tax evasion. On a personal note, my first libel case was filed by a coterie of top provincial officials of Davao del Norte the first year Martial Law was proclaimed by then Pres. Ferdinand Marcos. It was that time when Marcos ordered the purging of government bureaucracy of corrupt officials. I exposed what I believed was technical malversation and other malfeasance of the provincial officials. The cabal attempted to circumvent the law of bidding by dividing supply contract into P5,000.00 per transaction to dispense with the bidding. One of them also used government workers and engineering equipment to construct his house. All four officials jointly filed a libel case against me. Because it was martial law, lawyers refuse to handle my case. I was indicted by the city fiscal. Then a fellow journalist who looks like Jesus “Jess” Dureza, a correspondent of the Manila Bulletin passed the bar landing as 9th placer. He came to my rescue. My case was to be his first case and we won it on appeal. (Up to this time I have not paid his services). It was a double victory for me because my expose’ was later made the basis for all four to be dismissed from their job.

Of course, that libel was not to be the first and the last and all those never stopped me from writing. Hazard of the trade. That is true today as it was before. So let’s stop this crap of acting like a prima donna of local and international media. Face your private accuser Maria and cut trivializing your case by dragging President Duterte into your legal trouble. And yes pay your tax due. There’s no way you can escape that because even the notorious professional destabilizer donor had acknowledged he gave you a huge sum of money. From investments to donation. Any which way you’d call it, you still have to pay tax. You have no right to choose your enemy as well. Your accuser is Wilfredo Keng.