Quezon City court drops editor’s libel cases against actress

CMFR/Philippines—TWO LIBEL cases, this time filed by a journalist against an actress, were dropped on 30 January 2007 after both parties reached an out-of-court settlement.

Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 88 Judge Rosanna Fe Maglaya junked journalist Jo-Ann Maglipon’s suits against actress Claudine Barretto after confirming that the editor-in-chief of Yes! and former executive editor of Hi! magazine was withdrawing the suits. Yes! and Hi! are both entertainment magazines published by Summit Media.

Barretto first filed an injunction and a civil suit for damages against Maglipon on 22 July 2005, claiming that her photographs had been published in Yes! without her consent.  The July 2005 issue of Hi! magazine carried photos of her daughter’s christening.  She also claimed to have received “non-stop negative publicity, craftily disguised as feature stories.”

Barretto asked for P8 million ($160,000) in damages as well as a restraining order that would keep Maglipon and “all those acting under her control and direction”  at least 250 meters away from her, “her immediate family, and her places of residence.”

Barretto claimed that she had been “a victim of unfair and irresponsible journalism” that violated her rights as well as that of her family.

In response, Maglipon filed seven libel suits, three of which were affirmed in court. She said in her complaint that Barretto’s imputations that she is an irresponsible journalist and a violator of human rights “directly caused dishonor and discredit on her as a professional writer and as a person.”

A number of journalists supported Maglipon, whom they described as a responsible practitioner, and said Barreto’s efforts to prevent Maglipon and her staff from writing about her was a breach of press freedom.

Barretto also accused Maglipon’s daughter Patricia Marcelo of gate-crashing the final shoot of her TV fantasy series Marina and of taking “illegal” pictures of the taping.  Yes! carried the photographs in September 2004 but Barretto claimed these were “unofficial” and should not have been published.

Marcelo, a trained diver, was actually hired by series producer ABS-CBN TV as part of the cast.  She filed a P150,000 civil suit against the actress for allegedly damaging her name.

Barretto’s manager Johnny Manahan and Summit Media publisher Lisa Gokongwei agreed to resolve the matter out of court.  A Memorandum of Agreement was signed in October 2006, in which Barretto and Maglipon agreed to withdraw each other’s complaints.

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