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June 21, 2007
Another Journalist Jailed for Libel
Jofelle Tesorio, a former correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
and editor of Bandillo ng Palawan, now with the Bangkok-based Asia News
Network, is presently in jail despite having posted a P20,000 bail at
a Quezon City court.
The libel case was filed by former Congressman Vicente Sandoval of Palawan for Tesorio's article on the Camago-Malampaya Natural Gas Project in Palawan. The article came out in the January 20-26, 2003 issue of Bandillo ng Palawan.
Tesorio posted bail at around 9 a.m. this morning at the Quezon City Hall of Justice, then taken to Camp Karingal, also in Quezon City. She is now at the women's detention hall.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) reiterates its position that libel, a criminal offense under the country's Penal Code, should be decriminalized. Journalists should not be thrown behind bars for doing their jobs. And as shown in the countless libel cases filed by politicians against journalists, the libel law has also become a tool to harass media into silence.
Reference:
Rowena Paraan
Secretary-General, NUJP