By Alex P. Vidal
An Ilonggo audio expert on Friday filed libel case against several Manila-based reporters led by popular ABS-CBN anchorman Julius Babao over allegations that he tried to bribe State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco and a certain Prosecutor Solidum to go lenient on former Batangas Governor Antonio Leviste who is in jail and facing murder case for killing his former aide.
Jonathan Tiongco, son of prominent Iloilo lawyer Jose B. Tiongco, said he will also charge Velasco and Solidum "for causing undue injury" to his person at the Office of the Ombudsman and disbarment at the Supreme Court "in the proper time, if so warrants."
In his complaint affidavit received by the Office of the Iloilo City Prosecutor dated March 16, Tiongco, who rose to fame last year when he handled the "Hello Garci" tape examination for then Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor, narrated that Velasco "pronounced that I tried to bribe him the day before the hearing" of Leviste’s case at the Makati RTC Branch 150 on March 14.
Charged together with Babao, John Doe and Jane Doe all of ABS-CBN were Manila Times reporter James Konstantin Galvez and his unnamed publisher and editor, Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) reporter DY Yap and his editor and publisher, PDI Tech Torres Yap and his editor and publisher.
TWO SOURCES
Tiongco, 36, a resident of Molo, Iloilo City, said the libel stemmed from two sources: 1. Solidum’s allegation that a person he did not know proposed to bribe him P50,000 to go lenient on Leviste; and 2. an unverified SMS text message allegedly sent by him to Velasco.
"That due to the incident, the libels were published and broadcast by the respondents without even bothering to get the side of the complainant, in order to verify the slanderous pronouncement in open court," said Tiongco in his affidavit.
He added that in Galvez’s report published in the Manila Times print and internet web page on March 15, 2007, he "did not only write of the slanders, but he even insulted and belittled the complainant’s credentials by calling me a self-proclaimed audio expert."
"That it behooves my mind to think that after having spent more than 16 years as a professional sound engineer, record producer, and international remixer, the respondent would insult me and published such insults in their papers in order to besmirch my professional reputation," explained Tiongco’s affidavit.
"The respondent should know that in 1991, the Ilonggo rap song Dandansuy ‘Indi ka man bala’ which I composed, produced and recorded was a No. 1 hit, not only in Iloilo, but all over the world where Ilonggos resided."
DJ REMIXER
Tiongco narrated that in 1993, he was the first and only Filipino DJ Remixer recruited by the International DJ Remix service (DISCOTECH) based in Virginia , USA .
"In fact, my competence in digital Audio Mixing was utilized by superstar Gary Valenciano way back in 1998 in his album ‘Everybody Gets Down’. I took expert training and secured certification in Singapore, Germany, and London as Audio Forensic expert. Clearly, by calling me a self-proclaimed audio expert, respondent Galviz did so with malice," he added.
He explained that on March 15, " Yap supplemented his report with similar libels by stating that I once tried to discredit the ‘Hello Garci’ tapes."
"That clearly, malice was likewise displayed in respondent’s report because the ‘Hello Garci’ tape was not even an issue in the subject. To allege that I once tried to discredit the ‘Hello Garci’ tapes is certainly malicious," he said in his affidavit.
‘HELLO GARCI’
Tiongco said he never tried to discredit the ‘Hello Garci’ tapes. "In my capacity as a professional audio engineer, I was only hired by fellow Ilonggo, former Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor to analyze illegal wiretaps purporting to contain ‘authentic’ recordings of the President’s voice suggesting that she cheated with Garci in 2004 elections," he stressed.
"As a professional audio engineer, I accepted the assignment, and to say that I tried to discredit illegal wiretaps, would be like saying that the tapes were indeed credible."
"Secondly, I don’t have to discredit the incredible. To say that the entire ‘Hello Garci’ recordings are authentic is the height of stupidity."
Torres, Tiongco said, distorted the issue. "This time, in his report dated March 16, 2007, Torres wrote that I gave State Pros. Emmanuel Velasco a P50,000 peso bribe."
On the other hand, Tiongco said Babao "and his cabal at ABS-CBN broadcast several reports on the court incident involving Pros. Velasco’s pronouncement alleging that I offered to bribe Prosecutors to go lenient on accused Leviste."
He called the reports "one sided since Babao and other persons responsible at ABS-CBN never took my side of the story."
REVISED PENAL CODE
Tiongco said all respondents "committed libel as defined under Art. 357 of the Revised Penal Code. In principle, responsible journalism requires that verifiable safeguards be implemented and that fairness in reporting shall be exercised at all times. Otherwise, those responsible for publication of slanderous deeds shall be criminally liable for libel."
He is asking P1 million in damages "in unison with the filing of this criminal action in court."
Tiongco said he filed the case because he suspected that "there is something bigger behind the move to discredit me and that is the Garci tape."
He said there are rumors that elements of the Lakas competing with KAMPI "now will coalesce with opposition forces to support the impeachment against Pres. Arroyo."
This became possible, he said, because "the President failed to deliver her promise of charter change in 2006." /MP
No comments:
Post a Comment