PCIJ under new attack

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) received yet another suit from a controversial audio technician, who this time, filed five counts of libel against them last 27 March in Quezon City.

In his latest complaint against PCIJ, engineer Jonathan Tiongco said he “is being harassed by PCIJ,” referring to the most recent appearance by executive director Sheila Coronel in a Senate hearing 14 March.

During the said hearing, Coronel told members of the Justice and HumanRights Committee how the Quezon City police, along with Tiongco, tried, but failed to secure a warrant to search the PCIJ office. In his latest complaint-affidavit, Tiongco said he never applied for a search warrant, even if he and three policewomen were seen by journalists and the PCIJ lawyer at the office of RTC Judge Alan Balot on March 13.

A week earlier, Tiongco filed separate cases of perjury and obstruction ofjustice against the same organization. In those complaints, Tiongco said the PCIJ was harassing him and his family so that he “may not testify infavor of the government.” The latest libel charge is Tiongco’s seventh suit versus PCIJ.

Also included in the libel suit were nine other media executives and their reporters, who Tiongco claimed, published and aired what he said were “libelous quotations” from the PCIJ. Named respondents were : Letty Magsanoc, Isagani Yambot, Norman Bordadora,and Philip Tubeza of the Philippine Daily Inquirer; Maria Ressa, LuchieCruz-Valdez, and Lynda Jumilla of the ABS-CBN; and Katrice Jalbuena and Ronnie Calumpita of The Manila Times.

The suit is also the fourth libelcharge filed by Tiongco against ABS-CBN. Tiongco has filed different cases ranging from inciting to sedition tolibel against the PCIJ since last year. Tiongco was tapped by then Environment secretary and now PresidentialChief of staff Mike Defensor last year (12 August 2005) to prove that the alleged wiretapped conversations between the embattled President GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo and a former elections commissioner.

The said audio recordings, popularly known as “Hello, Garci,” allegedly contained strong proofs that Arroyo rigged the presidential elections in 2004.

PCIJ had posted these recordings in its blog. Recently, Department of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez “has spoken and announced that the PCIJ is being monitored for illegal posting of wiretapped material which tend to incite the public to sedition.”###

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