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By James Konstantin Galvez, Reporter
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro on Friday
asked the Makati Regional Trial Court to junk the P10-million class
suit filed by mediamen against the government in relation to the
threats issued by the latter in connection with the Manila Peninsula
standoff.
Teodoro is the first government official to file
a motion to dismiss the class suit.
In a nine-page motion to dismiss, Teodoro,
through his counsel, Alberto Valenzuela, said that the suit together
with the subsequent pleadings of the journalists to cause the
issuance of an injunction against government officials, including
him, has “no cause” and therefore should be junked for lack of
merit.
“The complaint which seeks to hold herein
defendant liable for his exercise of a constitutionally-guaranteed
right to freedom of expression and to enjoin him from the future
exercise of that right, does not state a cause of action against
defendant Secretary of National Defense,” Teodoro said in his
motion filed before Judge Reynaldo Laigo of the Makati Regional
Trial Court.
Teodoro stressed that the plaintiffs-journalists
failed to declare a violation by the defendant of the rights which
the former asserts, saying a “cause of action” is defined as an
“act or omission of one party in violation of the legal right of
the other which causes the latter [an] injury.”
“The complaint does not allege, and it may
thus be assumed, that defendant Secretary of National Defense did
not direct, order or in any manner participate in the alleged arrest
of media practitioners during the Manila Peninsula standoff nor did
the complaint allege that the arrests were carried out by elements
of the Armed Forces,” he said.
Teodoro noted he was merely exercising his
Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression when he was
quoted in various reports supporting the arrest and “processing”
of journalists who covered the Manila Peninsula standoff.
He likewise argued that the arrest of the
journalists were carried out before his “public pronouncements’
and “subsequent statements.”
Violation of Teodoro’s rights
Lastly, Teodoro said the suit and the subsequent
motion asking the court to issue an injunction against him and other
officials, if granted, would amount to a “gag order” in
violation of his rights.
“Plaintiffs not only want to punish defendant
Secretary of National Defense, they also want him gagged. The relief
prayed for in the complaint would result in a prior restraint on
defendant’s exercise of his constitutionally guaranteed right to
freedom of speech,” he said.
The complaint said that the arrest followed by
subsequent statements of Teodoro and other high-ranking government
officials has caused a “chilling effect” on media.
During a hearing early this month, several of
the plaintiffs including Malaya columnist Ellen Tordesillas and
BusinessWorld Editorial Board Chairman Vergel Santos told the court
that the arrest and subsequent statements, as well as the Department
of Justice advisory warning media practitioners of arrest if they
obstruct military or police operations constitute a “prior
restraint” on their profession, and prevent them from freely
discharging their duties.
They likewise said that the defendants cannot
merely invoke their Constitutional right to free speech as they are
holding public posts imbued with powers and responsibilities that
are not available to ordinary citizens.
Besides Teodoro, also named as respondents in
the P10-million civil suit are Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno,
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Philippine National Police chief
Avelino Razon and Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon.
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