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By Jomar Canlas Reporter
NEWLY elected House of
Representatives Speaker Prospero Nograles was accused as an enemy of
journalists’ rights, after he pushed for the conviction of Radyo
Bombo broadcaster Alexander Adonis in Davao following the
“burlesque king scandal” exposé.
In a letter to Nograles, the wife
of the mediaman, Gladys Adonis, stressed that she is asking the new
Speaker of the Lower House for sincerity in expessing concern for
members of media and in pushing a bill that seeks the
decrimi-nalization of libel.
“But as long as Alex remains in
jail, your motive behind the filing of the bill decriminalizing
libel would remain in doubt,” said Gladys Adonis, a teacher and a
mother of two.
Lawyer Harry Roque said that
under Nograles’ watch the decriminalization of libel, as initiated
by the Supreme Court, could be next to impossible for he is
described as “another enemy of the freedom of the press.”
Roque is the lawyer of Adonis who
is now serving imprisonment after he was convicted in a libel charge
filed by Nograles.
“We now have a president who
will not stand criticism from the press and a speaker who will send
journalists to jail,” Roque said.
With this, the lawyer said they
will be bring Adonis’ case to the United Nations asking for its
ruling that the country’s libel laws is a violation of the
country’s treaty obligations to international human rights
conventions.
“We will bring the case of
Adonis to the UN and we will fight for this as we are on the side of
what is right,” Roque added.
In January 2007, the Davao RTC
found Adonis guilty for the crime of libel and was sentenced to five
years and six months in jail after he waived his right to present
his side on the libel case filed against him by Nograles in 2001.
Adonis stressed that his problem
in financing a lawyer forced him to go into hiding.
The case originated from reports
and commentaries Adonis made, along with other reporters and
broadcasters in relation to the “Burlesque King” scandal.
According to the court records,
the reports tagged Nograles as the congressman allegedly seen
running naked in a hotel in Manila after the husband of the
lawmaker’s paramour caught them in bed.
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