In a grand PR show, the Firm’s lawyers, shortly after the conviction handed down by the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge on me which carried the stiff penalties of a jail term, a P4,000 fine, some P33,000 in actual damages, plus P5 million with interest yet, for “moral” damages, held a press conference to enjoy their “moment of glory” and announced that the P5 million they will be getting from me will be donated to the Philippines Press Institute, to financially assist journalists slapped with libel suits, as they claimed to be for press freedom.

These are the same lawyers who were overjoyed at the fact that the judge meted me the harshest punishment on just one count of libel and who, moreover, even called for my immediate stay in jail with a denial of bail.

And they claim to be believers of press freedom? Ah, but they say I was irresponsible and didn’t bother to check on the facts which is not altogether true, but I will have my time too in bringing out a lot of other stuff to prove the falsity of their charges, in another courtroom.

But not so fast, boys. Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched. That P5 million they speak of donating won’t be realized because once out of the Makati RTC, the case goes to the appeals court and all the way to the Supreme Court (SC) and that, as they know, will take a long time, because I will be fighting this case for a long long time. And I intend to win it.

It’s still not the time for these Villaraza boys to open the bubbly, although they are aware of it, but used this to their propaganda advantage.

And as they held a press conference and had the reporters’ attention, media took what they said hook line and sinker.

But it was clearly not a fair judgment, and was just as clearly not an impartial decision. I am not guilty as charged by the Firm and Judge Winlove Dumayas, and to my last breath, I will fight this out. And it’s a damn big fight they are going to get from me, that’s for sure.

But truly, that was pretty dumb of them to announce that the P5 million is to be donated to the PPI, coming as it does — assuming that they believe they will be getting that amount from me — from a journalist whom they had charged for unfounded libel and even made sure that I would be getting the top punishment.

This is the same law firm that filed 48 different libel complaints against me and my reporters and — this is on record — continues to fight against the consolidation of the cases, which then executive judge of the Makati RTC, now in the appellate court, the Arroyo state prosecutors and the Firm made sure wouldn’t be consolidated .

That is clearly harassment on their part. And they say they are for press freedom and that they bleed for journalists facing libel suits?

Truth is, the way they went about it didn’t make their image any better, in much the same way Big Mike’s filing of libel suits against various journalists didn’t improve his image — nor, for that matter the RTC, given the fact that there exists a circular from SC Chief Justice Reynato Puno on meting out a light sentence to journalists found guilty of libel, through a fine of P6 thousand, making that message all the stronger when the high court itself ruled on the case of a movie tabloid scribe upholding the conviction but bringing the penalty down to the P6 thousand fine.

The message was clear from the SC chief justice. Juxtaposed with the importance of press freedom, what the SC said was that imprisonment is too harsh a sentence for libel.

This came shortly before my conviction, with harsh penalties attached to it, which made an SC circular a mockery — and by the RTC. It would have been even worse for the court if bail sought was denied me.

In a way, that decision against me and the punishment meted out by the judge merely cemented the global perception of the country having a very weak judiciary, easily influenced politically and an even weaker rule of law.

Still, give Villaraza and his lawyers their time to savor their empty victory. In the end, they lose.

[Source: The Daily Tribune.]