A group of lawyers has expressed “grave concern” over the libel complaints that Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi filed against seven media outfits and their journalists.
In a statement, the Philippine Bar Association (PBA) offered its legal services to those named respondents in the Cusi complaints.
Last Dec. 3, Cusi said he filed libel and cyberlibel complaints against 18 officials and reporters of Manila Bulletin, ABS-CBN News, BusinessWorld, Rappler, Philippine Star, GMA News, and Business Mirror. The complaints dated Nov. 29, 2021 were filed before the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office.
“The sheer scope and breadth of the targeted journalists, not to mention the amount being asked from each (P200,000,000) leave little doubt that this slew of suits will introduce a ‘chilling effect,’” PBA President Rico V. Domingo said.
In offering PBA’s legal assistance, Domingo said: “We all are well-aware that criminal prosecutions are stressful and financially-draining challenges. They are time-consuming and for those without ready access to competent legal counsel, can become debilitating experiences.”
He said the PBA, the country’s oldest organization of volunteer lawyers established in 1891, is composed of “some of the most distinguished lawyers and law firms in the country.” PBA may be contacted thru telephone 88152485 or through email [email protected], he added.
He also said:
“We extend this service in recognition of our brave journalists who have fearlessly performed their constitutional duty for years. We rely on our Press to always search for the truth.
“We ask our journalists to keep writing facts. But their ability to do so remains only insofar that they themselves are Free -- free from fear, fear from harassment. If we want them to remain ‘free,’ then we must do our part to keep them that way.
“A Fee Press kept the light of freedom lit even during the darkest days of Martial Law. They have fought for the public’s right to know on countless occasions.
“The Rule of Law upon which every lawyer pays fealty to, is kept strong by the light that a Free Press illumines. When the Fourth Estate is under siege, those of us who believe in these freedoms must offer what we can to aid them.”
Domingo then called out to other colleagues in the legal profession “to take this opportunity to assist our beleaguered journalists.”
To the journalists, he stressed: “Keep writing facts.”