Gerry Baja of Teleradyo whips up a lively incisive interview.
File from last week (June 30)
Notes:
When a quasi-judicial agency … (quasi-judicial agencies are parts of the Executive Branch that adjudicate rights and privileges of parties affected by their functions) when a quasi-judicial agency renders a decision adverse to a party, the party adversely affected may normally appeal such decision with the Office of the President (quasi-judicial agencies are parts of the executive branch) or… if circumstances show that such an appeal to the Office of the President would be futile, an APPEAL from a decision of the quasi-judicial agency may be filed with the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.
Where there is a violation of a CLEAR LEGAL RIGHT, such as for example, a violation of any of your rights under the Bill of Rights, the remedy is to file a special civil action (an example is a petition for certiorari and prohibition with application for a preliminary injunction and TRO): For this, the following have jurisdiction: The Regional Trial Court (if the agency is located within its territorial jurisdiction) or the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court. In other words, any of the regular courts from the RTC to the CA to the SC has jurisdiction and can issue TROs against any agency (for the RTC, if within its territorial jurisdiction).
So, appeals, and special civil actions, are different from each other — we leave it to the handling lawyers of the ABS-CBN case to strategize, they know best (i never second-guess colleagues in the profession handling a specific case). Sorry for the lawyer talk.
During one of the franchise hearings last week, there was an allegation from one of the congressmen that AMCARA (which has its own franchise ) was a dummy of ABS-CBN supposedly because it has its office on the Scout Esguerra-Mother-Ignacia compound and it does not have its own giant transmitter.
Check it out: That compound and the one in Rockwell have dozens and dozens of tenants: Coffeeshops, call center hubs, clothes retail stores, canteen concessionaires , etc. Are tenants dummies of the space-owners they are leasing? Tell me.
Many franchise holders also do not have their own transmitters and are just renting other people’s transmitters. Are lessees of equipment, dummies of their lessors? Tell me.
A dummy means the corporation or person has assigned its/his/her interests, or the ownership of the company, to its principal…
the principal or the dummer ( 😊 i just made up the word dummer…dummee)
In Fraport (a German company) vs. Philippines, the party Philippines was able to show that several deeds of assignment had been issued by Filipino shareholders in favor of Fraport assigning their interests to Fraport (making said Filipino shareholders, dummies of Fraport, a German company).
If you want to show dummyhood, you must show that the owners are not the real owners or that they have assigned their interests.
(From the files, last week’s interview, June 30, a few hours after the NTC Commissioner said it was mulling an “alias” CDO against ABS-CBN, in the style of an alias warrant of arrest or alias summons. (an alias warrant of arrest or alias summons is issued by the judge when the original arrest warrant or summons was never served.)
The next day, the NTC did issue an order to stop the TV Plus channels on AMCARA frequency — typing the word “ORDER” in big letters , then they put a small parenthesis with small letters …
“Alias Order”.
Nahiya nang konti kaya naka-parenthesis and in small font.
I’m off to work… i’m off-cuffing…
From the files… The theme song used to intro the program and the interview was “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees…
June 30 Interview, before NTC summarily, without a hearing, CDO’ed or stopped ABS-CBN from airing its TV Plus programs on Amcara frequency (Amcara, holding the Amcara frequency, is not bound by that CDO. NTC further has no contempt powers. Wala po siyang contempt powers, wala po).
Uplifting Ads: Here’s the YouTube version, libel prescriptive period, etc. on Headstart by Karen Davila on ABS-CBN News Channel; the June 15 episode one hour BEFORE the promulgation of the libel case against journalists Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and reporter Rey Santos Jr. . Headstart airs weekdays 8am on Channel 27 with replays at middays.
Legal Discussion in the show: In Philippine jurisdiction, there are two paradigms of law that are involved in libel law and jurisprudence: The Revised Penal Code (RPC) of Spanish medieval origin, and the defenses in libel (privileged communication, the Public Figure Doctrine, etc) of American constitutional law origin. “Good faith” as a defense is mentioned in the libel law provision of the RPC but not defined; its definition and exposition can be found in constitutional law jurisprudence, i.e., cases in constitutional law, e.g., the Public Figure Doctrine.
Generally, every defamatory imputation is presumed malicious and generally truth is not a defense, i.e., defamation automatically carries with it the element of malice (malice presumed, no necessity to prove malice), since most people are private persons; HOWEVER, there is good faith when the Public Figure Doctrine is involved, i.e, when the news organization can show that the report involves public officials or public figures, and the report is substantially true, and it is based on sources (no “reckless disregard for the truth”), then there is absence of malice; there is no liability. This is privileged communication in libel law, it is a defense in libel, and no liability will attach for libel. Who are public figures? For the different categories of who public figures are: See Borjal vs. Court of Appeals with annotation by Justice Coquia , and many other cases. A public figure is anyone who gains prominence by reason of any of the following : crime, or because of their profession (actors, athletes, etc) , or accomplishment, or being a prodigy (talent), or heroism, or advocacy, etc etc., or being in the catch-all category “involvement in a newsworthy event.” Newsworthy events include the following :
Traditional Elements of News : crime, tragedies, street accidents, calamities, wars, epidemics, oddity, scientific inventions, social conflicts, etc., etc….
In such a case, as stated, you’ll need to show that your report is substantially true and that it is based on sources.
Here’s a quick, fast summary in the 17-minute excerpt of Headstart ably anchored by Karen Davila (video below)
