Roque said the Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance along with a local group, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, will contribute P100,000 to support the class suit, which will be filed by 42 journalists who are facing libel cases in connection with their articles on the President's husband.

"What is certain is the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (and) another journalist organization has committed P100,000 (US$2,000)," Roque said in a forum held at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

He said that the amount will be used to pay court fees when the complaint is brought before the Makati Regional Trial Court. He said the class suit will be filed next week tentatively.

He said the group welcomes contributions from various groups, except from politicians, to raise a bigger amount for filing fees. Roque explained that the group can seek a bigger amount of damages if there is enough money to pay court fees when the suit is filed. As of now, Roque said his clients have yet to determine the amount of damages.

The lawyer said P100,000 is the old filing fee for damages amounting to P5 million. He said that during a meeting prior to the drafting of the petition, it was agreed upon that his clients would initially seek a smaller amount to "highlight the principle rather than (be) interested in actual pecuniary damages" but this was changed in the
subsquent meetings.

"It was (Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist) Conrado de Quiros and Daily Tribune editor-in-chief Ninez Cacho-Olivares who both said we shoud sue the pants off the first gentleman although the amount should be somehow symbolic. And the amount proposed by de Quiros was P87 million, (or) P1 for every Filipino," Roque said.

"The problem though is the amount of filing fees is dependent on damages and P87 million is P1.7 million in filing fees. That was prior to the increase in filing fees which was implemented only this week," he added.

Roque said the amount has not been finalized but the complainants agreed that they should contribute even a token amount for the filing fees. He stressed that donations are only limited to small amounts.

Among the petitioners of the class suit is Romina "Mia" Gonzales, a Malacañang reporter of Business Mirror and correspondent of Newsbreak magazine. Plainclothes policemen tried to serve a warrant of arrest on Gonzales at the Malacañang press office last week but she was not around.

In the petition, Roque argued that Mr. Arroyo filed his cases not to defend his honor but to intimidate the media practioners. He said that the first gentleman, himself a lawyer, must be aware that his cases will be dismissed eventually because the contested articles were considered privileged communication.

A privileged communication involves articles written about public figures on matters involving public interest, he said.

"He should know what will happen to these cases; that they will be dismissed because they are privileged communications and yet he persists because he wants people like Mia to be arrested and be ridiculed publicly," he said.

Roque noted that although the filing of libel cases is guaranteed in the Constitution, Mr. Arroyo has abused that right.

"(The) filing of libel cases (was) done in bad faith and in a manner that amounts to injustice because it is not (intended) to protect his honor given that as a public figure he knows he is subject to (public scrutiny)," he said.

He said that the journalists libeled by Mr. Arroyo have committed that in the event they win the unprecedented class suit, the money will be used "for the purpose of furthering the journalism profession in the Philippines. "

In ANC interview, Mr. Arroyo's lawyer, Ruy Rondain, said his client was unfazed by the lawsuit.

"I don't know that Mr. Arroyo has violated anyone's civil or political rights so I see no cause of actions for that constitutional freedom suit... they are not being prevented from saying what they wanted to say... it's just that as journalists they should be able to take responsibility for their actions," he said.

[Source: www.abs-cbnNEWS.com]