{"id":288951,"date":"2010-02-07T05:44:42","date_gmt":"2010-02-07T10:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalvoicesonline.org\/?p=121641"},"modified":"2010-02-07T05:44:42","modified_gmt":"2010-02-07T10:44:42","slug":"philippines-cabinet-member-sues-blogger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/288951","title":{"rendered":"Philippines: Cabinet member sues blogger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blogger Ella Ganda<\/a> is facing a libel lawsuit<\/a> in connection to a post she wrote last October. Ella alleged<\/a> that relief goods intended for typhoon victims are being hoarded in a government warehouse owned by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Philippines was hit by a powerful tropical storm<\/a> last September which displaced half a million people in Luzon Island alone. The DSWD was the major government agency in charge of coordinating relief efforts throughout the country. Responding to the appeal of the government for more volunteers, Ella went to a DSWD warehouse to help in the repacking of relief goods. <\/p>\n

Ella\u2019s expose was picked up by the mainstream media. DSWD officials denied that the agency was hoarding relief goods but they admitted that the agency lacked volunteers. DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral<\/a> (now the Secretary of the Department of Health) issued this statement in response to the blog report of Ella: <\/p>\n

\n

We would like to assure all of you that the relief goods will reach the intended beneficiaries as they become necessary and will be used only to assist them. However, the relief goods don\u2019t all go out at the same time and an empty warehouse is not proof that the goods were used properly just as a full warehouse is not evidence that the goods are being hoarded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"dswd\"<\/a>
\n\"warehouse\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Three months after reporting what she witnessed in the DSWD compound, Ella was charged with libel<\/a> by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). This was requested by Secretary Cabral who said that her reputation was maligned by Ella. Secretary Cabral and the NBI have been trying to identify the real name of Ella. They want Ella to answer the charges and to take some polygraph tests<\/a>. <\/p>\n

This is not the first time that a blogger was charged with libel in the Philippines. But this is the first time that a Cabinet member, in cooperation with the NBI, has charged an anonymous blogger with a libel suit.<\/p>\n

What are the reactions of Filipino bloggers? Most are supportive of Ella. <\/p>\n

FOO Law and Economics<\/em> believes the case is weak<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

I would volunteer a common-sense opinion. I believe that Ella\u2019s postings are fully within the definition of \u201cfair commentary\u201d in the jurisprudence on libel. In the jurisprudence, fair comment is a sufficient defense if the subject matter of the libel case is a matter of public concern.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Resurgence 2.0<\/em> warns that the libel suit sends a chilling effect on bloggers<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

I saw the blog during its height. There\u2019s nothing libelous about it. The blogger stood with nothing to gain \u2014 other than the unsolicited fame the blog resulted from. If there was anything Ella was about during that time, she was sincerely bothered by the fact that people were hungry and homeless and without clothes and the government doesn\u2019t seem to care.<\/p>\n

This sends a chilling effect on bloggers. Blogging \u2014 and social networks \u2014 as we now know, is the future of media. It may not be as formal as the print or even TV, but I will argue that it\u2019s the fastest and even more accurate source of information nowadays<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Carlo's Think Pieces<\/em> insists<\/a>: \u201cIt is not libel, it is free speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

What I found was a proper blog by a concerned citizen re the relief goods which apparently were not being distributed promptly to the typhoon victims. Nowhere in that blog post did she say that relief goods were \u201crotting\u201d \u2013 the word she used was \u201cinaalikabok\u201d (which means \u201cgathering dust\u201d). She was decrying the lack of volunteers to do the repacking work, and even suggested that NGOs or the military could help in this work. She in no way accused the Secretary or the DSWD of corruption.<\/p>\n

I think that Secretary Cabral is overstepping her authority and being arrogant, by trying to silence Ella and her blog. Her libel suit is totally without merit. Ella\u2019s blog told the truth, and it was done without any malicious intent. It is not libel, it is free speech.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Barrio Siete<\/em> shares<\/a> a similar point<\/p>\n

\n

First, the blog article in question, as we can find in most blogs, is a matter of opinion. If a person makes a statement that is, as Cabral said, contrary to the facts, it may not necessarily be libelous. On the other hand, a statement can be seen as an expression of fact or opinion depends on whether or not the person making such statement would be in a position to know such facts.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Reacting to the Ella libel case, Technograph<\/em> urges bloggers<\/a> to be ready to back up their statements in their blogs, and apologize if proven wrong <\/p>\n

\n

Personally, I now find the accusations of \u201cElla Rose\u201d less credible. If the NBI is to be believed, she never took steps to back up her statements, including requesting \u201can investigation from the Office of the Ombudsman or any law enforcement agency.\u201d Whether or not \u201cElla Rose\u201d fights the charges off or not, remember bloggers, be prepared to back up what you say, and to apologize if you\u2019re wrong!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Journalist Jigs Arquiza advises Ella to face the charges<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n

to all the rest who really don\u2019t get my point and who think that ella is being treated unfairly: it\u2019s your right to side with ella. i am not saying all of you are wrong. all i am saying is that there is always more than one side to a story. ella did not disclose all the facts, did not try to get certain information, did not practice responsible blogging, and is now hiding behind the defense of \u201cfreedom of speech\u201d.<\/p>\n

a lot of bloggers feel they can say anything in their blogs because they can remain anonymous. and like i said, if ella feels that what she posted was not malicious, then she should come out and face the charges<\/p>\n

that is the thing most bloggers don\u2019t understand, that when you make your thoughts public, then these are not personal anymore, rather, these become remarks that cause reactions.<\/p>\n

that is what happened. ella posted, cabral got pissed, ella should face the consequences. anyway, it\u2019s up to cabral to prove malice, right? so what is ella afraid of?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blogger Ella Ganda is facing a libel lawsuit in connection to a post she wrote last October. Ella alleged that relief goods intended for typhoon victims are being hoarded in a government warehouse owned by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The Philippines was hit by a powerful tropical storm last September which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4570,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-288951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4570"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}