Secretary Esparanza Cabral, formerly of the DSWD and currently with the Department of Health. Photo grabbed from the DSWD website.
Secretary Esperanza Cabral is apparently harassing the blogger who blogged about the relief goods stockpiled in warehouses of the agency she used to head in the aftermath of supertyphoon Ondoy (Ketsana). She has filed a libel case against Ella Ganda for supposedly defaming her, the men and women of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the agency itself.
Cabral is committing a grave mistake for which she would probably shame herself before the court which will hear the libel case. The subsequent events after Ella Ganda published her controversial post — Cabral admitting that there indeed were plenty of relief goods in DSWD warehouses and Cabral accepting the offer of citizens to help in repacking them to speed up distribution, the online community’s response to such call for volunteers — would only confirm what the blogger wrote. In fact, Ella Ganda did the country a favor by ensuring speedy and transparent distribution of these relief goods for their intended recipients.
It is doubtful too whether Cabral, the entire DSWD, the National Bureau of Investigation and the state prosecutors could prove malice on the part of the blogger. I think the blog post in question was an expression of concern over how the government was perceived to be working at a time when tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands were waiting for relief aid. There is no indication in the blog post that the blogger maliciously wrote about the relief goods she claimed to have seen “rotting” in one such DSWD warehouse. By “rotting”, she may have meant being left there even amid the dire situation of Ondoy evacuees.
Authorities have so far failed to identify the person behind Ella Ganda so we suspect this will delay the legal proceedings. But if she surfaces and she fights back, I am hopeful the online community and ordinary citizens would rise up and back her up.
Cabral, an alter-ego of President Arroyo, should not use her powers to intimidate Ella Ganda and consequently the blogging community into a false sense of objectivity. She must recognize that her position carries with it the responsibility of accepting criticism and fair comment from the public she has sworn to serve. Criticism is part of the territory she has placed herself into.
[Of course, there are opposing views on this issue, but I think Cabral is going overboard in her drive to save face. She could just have answered back by publishing a full accounting of relief goods that passed through the DSWD and other government agencies, when they were received and from whom, whenand where they were distributed, etc. The government owes such a report to the donors and the citizens to whom these agencies and officials are accountable.]
We owe it to ourselves, future bloggers and netizens and our readers to defend our fundamental rights to free expression, to redress of grievance, to fair comment, to hold government accountable and to exchange of information without threats of persecution a la Cabral. If it goes unchallenged, it would be bad for blogging, sending a chilling effect on the online community.
Otherwise, blogging and the internet would be useless, toothless and bereft of the hope for great possibilities as we have seen in the great bayanihan after Ondoy. That would be a sad terrible day when our rights and the medium we have grown to love would itself “rot”.
Tags: blogging, DSWD, ella ganda, esperanza cabral, libel, ondoy, relief goods
have you read the article of mon tulfo about this issue? kakagulat sya ha! journalist ba sya talaga? parang hindi niya pinag-aralan ‘yung sinulat niya. akalain mong sabihin ba naman na hindi daw matutuloy ang kasal ni ella dahil kay cabral? eh diba sabi ni ella sa post nya di muna matutuloy dahil daw sa sukob, etc. unless, of course, hindi totoo yung post na yun (ni ella).
to andy: i’ll give you one word: GOOGLE
freedom of speech and freedom of the press were two of the first things i learned about when i became, yes, a journalist.
to glaiza: thanks! it really is frustrating when people don’t want to be held accountable for what they write, and hide behind freedom of speech when their writings backfire on them.
i just have a question:
if blogs are “personal” as bloggers insist they are, why are blogs published on the web for all to read? and why do bloggers want to have as many hits as possible on their blog?
to jigs: you did not answer most of my questions but that is your right. And so, do not also expect answers from other people to whom you direct personal questions. But I wish you will refrain from “lecturing” to people on topics such as libel, what is malicious or not, about freedom of speech and freedom of the press when you yourself do not seem to have or cannot claim to have full knowledge or expertise of such topics. Do not tell people that they do not understand those things more than you do. Just express your opinion and I will respect that whether you’re a journalist or not.
http://jlp-law.com/blog/libel-e-internet-libel/
In Philippine jurisdiction, the truth is not always a defense. While something is true, if the purpose is to besmirch, then liability still exists. To be liable for libel, the following elements must be shown to exist:
(1) the allegation of a discreditable act or condition concerning another;
Here are some photo captions in Ella’s blog:
- Marami pang pabubulukin
- Sige, ideretso ‘nyo ulit ‘yan sa DSWD warehouse. Para AMAG naman ang abutin ng biskwit… at sapot ng gagamba.
- Do you mean “do not delay ang dati nang delayed”
- Sabay tatahiin na ang sako. O di ba, parang asong tinapunan ng buto ang mga nasalanta?
- Relief goods na ayaw yata ibigay sa mga nasalanta. Halatang-halata.
Her Conclusion:
Susulpot din siguro ang laman ng mga mahiwagang kahon at mapapasakamay din ng mga tao…sa ARAW NG ELEKSYON.
(2) publication of the charge;
http://www.ellaganda.com/?p=1759
(3) identity of the person defamed; and
http://www.ellaganda.com/?p=1759
(4) existence of malice.
Legal malice is a term that refers to one party’s intention to do injury to another. Malice can either be expressed or implied.
- Expressed malice occurs when the party gives outward notice that they intend to commit a crime or some other wrong towards another.
Nagpalabas ng directive ang pangulo. Individuals, private companies and other nations were ENCOURAGED to send their donations to DSWD. I blogged about it here (blog entry not found ).
This PGMA directive sounded suspicious to me then. Now I know why.
Here’s the story.
A group of eight people, your ate Ella included, went to one of DSWD warehouses to help in repacking relief goods. We know they need volunteers pero hindi namin akalaing WALANG TAO TALAGA SA LOOB NG WAREHOUSE!
***Ella suspected PGMA’s directive. She went to volunteer and took photos expressly violating the instruction not to do so. She displayed these on her blog with the captions earlier mentioned.
- Implied malice occurs when one party causes death or injury to another during the course of unlawful or disreputable actions.
Pinagbawalan kaming kumuha ng pictures sa loob ng warehouse. I wonder why. (She still took photos.)
Malice generally involves the intentional infliction of physical, mental, psychological, or financial damage to another party.
Now how do you determine intention?
1. Do you base it on the blogger’s action in response to her suspicion?
This PGMA directive sounded suspicious to me then.
***So she volunteered then took photos inside the warehouse.
2. Do you base it on the accused and the accuser’s history and connections, if any?
You said: Cabral, an alter-ego of President Arroyo
If there’s an allusion to motive because of political connection then you may be interested to check this link:
http://www.bulatlat.com/news/6-32/6-32-libel.htm
for this info:
42 Journalists Face Libel Raps from Arroyo’s Husband
Bandera (six counts, Tulfo’s column “On Target” inilabas noong Jan. 26, May 23 at 27, June 6,8 at 17)
27. Eileen Mangubat (publisher)
28. Beting Laygo Dolor (editor-in-chief)
29. Jimmy Alcantara (associate editor)
30. Raymond Rivera (circulation manager)
The Beting Laygo Dolor :
Of Philippine News Online:
http://philippinenews.com/article.php?id=5380
who started PCIJ (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism ) alongside Sheila Coronel, Malou Mangahas, Lorna Kalaw-Tirol, Howie Severino and David Celdran.
http://preciousanne.blogspot.com/
Editor- of:
1. Bandera
2. Prime Asia and Pinoy Global Access
http://www.upjournalismclub.org/gallery/photos/suit-of-cards-a-forum-on-libel/
3. Playboy Philippines
http://www.bworldonline.com/Weekender072508/main.php?id=focus1
4. Business World
http://www.grabeh.com/forum/index.php
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR of:
http://www.filglobe.com/files/augpage22forum.pdf
Same Beting Laygo Dolor who released this:
http://philippinenews.com/article.php?id=5380
Donated goods sitting in DSWD warehouse
Published, October 23, 2009
… after Ella released this:
http://www.ellaganda.com/?p=1759
Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo? (A special report from a volunteer)
Published, Oct 21st, 2009
Same Beting Laygo Dolor who co-wrote the articles appearing here:
http://pinoybsn.blogspot.com/2006/10/arroyo-to-nurses-retake-board-test.html
http://bolanon.com/forums_topic_view.aspx?page=1&tid=3363&fid=2929&=desc
…with the girl whose name appears here:
http://services.inquirer.net/mobile/10/01/22/html_output/xmlhtml/20100121-248693-xml.html
…and whose identity is confirmed here:
http://forums.seo.ph/showthread.php?t=10191
Re: DSWD vs Jade? – 01-22-2010, 11:36 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by kickmoko
teka maihabol ko lang..member din ba dito si jade?
Yes. Si vlette
3. Do you base it on the snowballing imputations the blog entry has spawned?
a. Like the blog entries of her fellow bloggers like: http://gurlalien.blogspot.com/2010/01/para-kay-ella.html
Wow… di maka get over? bakit kaya? well… ang sabi niya, hindi daw dapat palampasin ang mga ganitong ‘paninira’ sa gobyerno. huh? pero bakit? Alam mo madam, kung di ka talaga guilty, dapat madali kang makaka move-on. eh bakit parang hanggang ngayon eh hurt na hurt ka pa din sa mga nabasa mong blog post? dahil ba the truth hurts? at kahit pa na hindi na ikaw ang mei hawak ng DSWD eh nag file ka pa din ng kaso?
yung mga againsta kay ella, obvious na obvious na related sa DSWD. kung makapag post eh damang dama nila every word.
Whose alias appears here:
http://forums.seo.ph/showthread.php?s=81b8794c5836bf5d9aae7608177a1b3f&t=5216
b. Or the published articles of media men like:
Ramon Tulfo
Whose article: It pays to be honest
http://services.inquirer.net/mobile/10/02/01/html_output/xmlhtml/20100130-250222-xml.html
states:
FORMER SOCIAL WELFARE and now Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral is reportedly using her office to harass a blogger…
The same group also allegedly went to the Parañnaque residence of the Dolor family, as Cabral was reportedly convinced that Ella was a member of that family.
Same Tulfo who curiously appeared here:
42 Journalists kinasuhan ng Libelo
Bandera (six counts, Tulfo’s column “On Target” inilabas noong Jan. 26, May 23 at 27, June 6,8 at 17)
27. Eileen Mangubat (publisher)
28. Beting Laygo Dolor (editor-in-chief)
29. Jimmy Alcantara (associate editor)
30. Raymond Rivera (circulation manager)
http://zumel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=2
As confirmed from this column:
http://tulfo.net/column1.htm
Dear observer,
Proving malice is easier said than done. That is a tall order.
Meanwhile, Cabral is no ordinary person. She’s a prominent and powerful person by virtue of her being an alter-ego of the President, erstwhile secretary of the DSWD and now of the DOH. The court would not overlook this basic fact that negates her screaming for legal protection from prying eyes of vigilant citizens. By virtue of her being a Cabinet secretary and at the head of the DSWD (along with the NDCC) that oversaw official relief operations, she is a personality whose deeds and perceived misdeeds are fair game to the President constituents and the public.
According to Radford’s Libel Notes, “opinions about the public performance of people who voluntarily place themselves before the public are protected by the fair comment defense. But what is opinion and what is fact? In Janklow v. Newsweek, 1986, (below) a federal appeals court said there were four criteria for determining if a statement is a fact:”
” a) The precision and specificity of the statement.
” b) The verifiability of the statement is important in proving it a fact.
” c) The literary context in which the statement is made.
” d) The public context of the statement, for example, as part of the political arena, would tend more to be protected opinion.”
Fair comment is a valid defense in this context of Ella’s blog. As she is reacting how a political office under the President is handling and managing the relief goods the agency received, Ella’s post may be regarded by the court as fair comment.
Who defines truth? The one accused? …Or the accuser?
Is this a battle for the truth or an attempt to redefine freedom of the press as freedom that recognizes no borders, overlapping the rights and freedom of others notwithstanding?
http://www.zumel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=2
http://tungkab.wordpress.com/2007/06/17/peryodista-kontra-libelo/
Who defines freedom? The one who exercised it? …Or the one denied of it?
Should anyone be allowed to trample on another person’s freedom without fear of repercussion whatsoever?
Where does freedom start? Where does freedom end?
Who has the necessary machinery to harass, to silence truth?
Who’s harassing who?
Apparently, my post here, similar to what I posted in Global Voices and other sites has earned Ella’s ire and she devoted her entry today to discuss just that.
I replied to her this morning but as of this posting she still hasn’t approved it.
Although I noticed she already has approved a number of comments from different people and has already revised her post a number of times, I am still crossing my fingers. Hopefully, she’ll approve it.
In the event she doesn’t though, I’ll post the link of my reply here in respect of the fact that this is one of the sites where I posted the comment which has caused “a teeny-weeny rise out of [her]“.
Here’s the link:
http://issuesopinions.wordpress.com
@opiniononissues,
Huling pagtingin
@jigs;
“to ella: just because you got more than 500 comments on your post doesn’t mean you were right.”
Ito ba ang na-gets mo sa comment kong yon? I expected more from you, jigs. You disappoint me. Tsk bilib na sana ako.
“so bakit natatakot si ella?”
Hey, how did you conclude na natatakot ako? Where did that come from? Hindi ko alam na close pala tayo hehe. Nakita mo yata akong nagtatago sa ilalim ng kama ko eh.
I-prove mo nga na NATAKOT AKO…ngayon at last October?
@glaiza,
are you the same glaiza who commented in my blog:
“Hay naku Ella girl! wag masyadong pansinin ang mga hirit ng kung sinong opisyales na tinatamaan dyan. Ang pagsasabi ng totoo, kahit kailan ay ‘di nangangahulugan ng paninirang puri. It just happened na madaming echoserang frog dyan na guilty at affected dahil malamang sa hindi totoong may kasalanan.”
Hmmm…I really wish you’re not the one who wrote this in my blog. Sana magkapareho lang kayo ng nick.
@ Melai,
Hello, gurl! Dito lang pala kita makikita kay Tonyo. Na-miss na kasi kita sa blog ko. Musta ka na?
@Tonyo,
Thanks for being a gracious host.
@tonyo ulit,
Pasensiya ka na. Masyadong late na ang mga replies ko. Ngayon lang kasi ako nakabalik dito eh. Alam mo na busy sa pagtatago hehe I think mas nakakatawa ‘to “lol”
No problem. Magkikita din tayo siguro ng personal soon.
@observer and opinionissues
How observant you are guys! pwede kayong maging scientist!tsk tsk
@ella
kapag ang puno madming bunga talagang binabato. kapag ang mga naatasang maglingkod sa gobyerno ay walang ginagawa ay binabato din. you just simply did what is right at least sa kasagsagan noong ondoy time ay kumilos sila ng mas mabilis. government shall practice (policy) consistency (kahit sa mga pinapalabas nilang statements) as BDO’s Battle cry Consistency earns trust. You are consistent, hindi ka nga takot, sila ang hindi consistent no wonder walang tiwala sa kanila ang madlang pilipino.
@jigs ay naku, itong si jigs, akala mo kung sinong editor, tingnan nyo what he did to sunstar weekend, anyone interested in reading sunstar weekend pre and post jigs.
this comment you posted below leads to many misinterpretations…
“to mang jose: good work. one day you might be a master of sarcasm just like me. keep it up, so you can someday be the spokesperson for a corrupt government official.” <—sorry, but at first I had to laugh to think that you are referring to yourself as a spokesperson for a corrupt government official?! did you just call the person you are defending a corrupt government official? classic! Hahaha…wait, were you being sarcastic??
Anyway, I think ella will lose the case because justice can only see systems and technicalities, not passion nor emotions. When I read the blog, my instant thought was instead of blogging which is often some what self incriminating… she should have filed a complaint about what she saw presenting evidences of her photos. Perhaps her endeavor to express her views on corruption could have resulted to fruition. Anyway, I still think politics and those in power will always be tempted to steal and philander. That's why I save for the rainy day and don't rely on relief efforts. Do you think there's something wrong with the distribution of those relief goods? Why is it delayed? Has Cabral released any explanations yet? Do you know the truth that's why you defend it so passionately? Kindly share. I would really appreciate it.
Ella would win the case based on merit, not because of passion and emotion.