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
I don’t agree.
Sometimes we are quick to criticize without even getting the other side of the story. This should serve as a lesson to all bloggers that with freedom comes responsibility.
To believe that you can say anything regardless if you are already defaming another person’s reputation (which, by the way is not easy to come by) is plain and simple arrogance. And right now that is the prevailing attitude among bloggers. At least those that i come in contact with. This should change.
It would be interesting to monitor this case. I myself would want to see Ella Ganda go to jail if proven that she defamed Cabral.
Being a public servant does not mean that Cabral no longer has the right to protect her reputation. Yes, she should be open to criticism, but it doesn’t mean that she should just accept criticisms and not do anything about it especially if it would put an institution and her reputation in bad light.
Criticism is good but only if it is constructive and not if it is malicious.
And I don’t think she is trying to intimidate Ella Ganda. She is just trying to protect her reputation.
Let the court decide if this Ella Ganda did put the institution in bad light and tainted Cabral’s reputation.
The issue is here whether Ella Ganda committed libel — which I found doubtful and too difficult to prove. The element of malice is not present in the assailed blog post.
Could this be a test case to perhaps “teach bloggers a lesson”? Maybe or maybe not. While I don’t wish to say Filipino bloggers are perfect, the rule must be to uphold their right to expression. If they commit a mistake, there are ways to correct it. Libel cannot be the first or only way.
Cabral has at her disposal all the means to correct what she perceives to be wrong or mistaken in Ella’s blog post. Unfortunately, she has opted to use libel, the same tool used against crusading journalists to silence them.
tonyo, if ella ganda’s blog did not show any “malice”, then what exactly was she trying to do? her post was very personal; it seems she was trying to gain reaction from her readers, and getting it. she was fancying herself as a “whistleblower” and enjoying the ruckus that she created.
she said that there were no volunteers except the eight of them. if she had sincerely wanted to help, she could have posted in her blog that the dswd needed volunteers.
gusto lang niya ata gumawa ng gulo eh.
looking at your credentials, it’s surprising that you are taking a stand against cabral’s actions. paano naman ang reputation ni cabral? nasira na dahil sa post ng manok mo.
you, with all your affiliations and ek-ek, should know better than to defend someone who obviously don’t know what JOURNALISM is. it’s not about freedom of speech, dude. it’s about being able to say or write what you want, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE FACTS TO BACK IT UP, and as long as YOU HAVE SHOWN EVERY SIDE OF THE STORY.
the ella ganda post is just too ONE-SIDED.
if this ella person submitted that story to me, i would throw it in the trash as soon as i finished reading it and would have given her hell for not showing cabral’s side.
Jigs, thanks for coming over.
Yun na nga – kailangang patunayan na may malisya. Cabral has to make that case and its very hard to prove.
But whether Ella just craved for attention is beside the point. Libel is just too much – she could be jailed. Cabral meanwhile has the luxury of her position to demolish Ella’s claims, point by point.
Read Ella’s blog post again. She apparently was expressing her dismay at the inefficiency and delays she witnessed. And remember the time she posted it. Twas when more relief aid was needed by more people across Luzon. She perhaps merely wants the DSWD to efficiently and quickly bring relief aid to those who need it.
Cabral’s reputation appears to be intact. She even got to be appointed as DOH secretary. She still has the trust and confidence of President Arroyo.
Yes, it would have been better had Ella interviewed DSWD officials. But she didn’t. She may have her reasons. But that does not make her comment unfair or invalid. That also does not give Cabral a license to sue her for libel.
Anyway, journalists went after the story, taking their cue from Ella’s blog post. Cabral then had the opportunities to explain to far wider audiences and she did it many times.
tonyo, that’s exactly the point. ella can be jailed. therefore, she should not have shot her mouth off just like that. she was very irresponsible in doing that.
you say her comments were not malicious. i found them to be very sarcastic, ergo, malicious. believe me, i am a master of sarcasm and i know it when i see it.
Those are two different things, sarcasm and malice. Sarcasm is a literary device. Malice is the overriding and key element in libel.
As it is, Ella’s blog post is not a news story and the blog is not a news outlet. It is a personal blog for expressing her personal view. She is legally entitled to expressing those views. If she criticized Cabral and her handling of the relief goods, that’s fair commentary. We have a right to express fair comments.
malicious/sarcastic comments:
“Para sa mga “special victims” kaya ito? Ire-repack kaya ang mga “imported” camp pads na ito ever?”
“Sabagay, may BANIG naman para sa “ordinary victims”. Ito ang kasama sa inimpake namin. Sayang ‘yung imported.”
“Hindi rin ito kasali, of course. Hindi namin alam kung ano ang laman nito. “Imported” are not included, we have concluded.”
“Naaah! “Imported” pork and beans from Spain po ito. Sorry, hindi pa rin included”
“Relief goods na ayaw yata ibigay sa mga nasalanta. Halatang-halata.”
Millions of dollars in donations, walang extrang pang-gasolina.
“Susulpot din siguro ang laman ng mga mahiwagang kahon at mapapasakamay din ng mga tao…sa ARAW NG ELEKSYON. O mabibili na nila ang mga imported goods na ‘yon sa mga puwesto sa Quiapo at Divisoria.”
these are just a few of the comments. don’t tell me there is no malice in them, especially in the last one.
oh, and by the way, i am a section editor of a newspaper, so i think i do know what i’m talking about when i say “malice”.
sarcasm is a literary device, yes, but in this case, the sarcasm was meant to damage the reputation of cabral, which is where the malice lay.
that journalists took the cue from ella’s post does not justify her post at all.
personal views notwithstanding, most bloggers know that they REACH a lot of people. it is one thing for me to say something to another person as a personal view. it is another thing to post something on my blog for the whole world to see. when you put your personal thoughts online, in a blog, the idea is to have as many people see it.
that is the thing most bloggers don’t understand, that when you make your thoughts public, then these are not personal anymore, rather, these become remarks that cause reactions.
that is what happened. ella posted, cabral got pissed, ella should face the consequences. anyway, it’s up to cabral to prove malice, right? so what is ella afraid of?
Sarcastic yan, but not malicious in the sense that it is libelous. You should check the entire post and not forget the suggestions made so the DSWD would be more efficient and quick in handling the relief goods.
Next step now is to wait and see if the prosecutors find probable cause to charge Ella with libel before the courts. Baka sa piskal pa lang, ibasura na ang Cabral case.
it is libelous in the sense that the post sought to destroy the reputation the dswd. cabral may not have been the immediate target, but the post directly malign dswd personnel.
here are the suggestions:
Suggestions lang po sa DSWD:
# Alam ‘nyo palang walang mag-volunteer sa inyo, bakit hindi kayo mag-hire ng mga tao? Bayaran ‘nyo ng arawan para mag-repack. Ang daming walang trabaho, makakatulong pa kayo. Hindi naman malaking kabawasan ‘yon sa bilyong pisong donasyon na natanggap ninyo.
# Isa pa, gaano ba karami ang mga sundalo natin? Hindi ba puwedeng ipagawa sa kanila ‘yan? Baka isang araw lang, tapos na ang problema ‘nyo
# Bakit hindi ‘nyo ibigay ang trabaho sa mga NGO, churches, private charities, TV stations? I’m sure they are more than willing to help. Time is of the essence. Huwag kayong suwapang. Obvious ba, hindi ‘nyo naman kaya.
Kung talagang gugustuhin ninyong makarating agad sa mga kawawang biktima ang mga donasyong ‘yon, nagawa ‘nyo na ‘yan. Maraming paraan…kung talagang gusto ‘nyo lang.
You are the government. You have the power, the resources and the money. You just have to really care.
those don’t read like suggestions. all they read like are sarcastic comments meant to ridicule the dswd for being incompetent.
Some bloggers may indeed have committed irresponsible acts — they must be held to account and compelled to apologize. Its a community issue for netizens, how to uphold basic ethics. It requires a community effort. Perhaps it may even lead to the adoption of a code of ethics.
Libel is an altogether different animal. In the Philippine media setting, most media organizations want to end it, to decriminalize it because powerful subjects, such as cabinet secretaries, just use it for objectives totally different from yours.
The saddest thing that could happen is the spread of the toxic view that we have no right to free expression, that we cannot criticize or use sarcasm against the powerful. If that happens, online and legacy media would lose.
Saying “the government is incompetent” is not a crime.
that’s not the point. the point is how ella commented on the situation, and sought to malign the dswd.
and the comments that were malicious were the ones insinuating that the dswd were going to keep some donations for themselves.
Thank you for this post. I was wondering when people will start reacting. I am worried for the blogger’s demise – she’s just one little person against one faction of the government. Why do they always go for the little people? There are so many out there that the government can spend time (and money) worrying about. One blog post doesn’t discredit the government’s reputation and work – my goodness, try years and years of blatant graft and corruption.
I think we should all be aware of this issue: what happens to Ella can happen to any one of us in the future, should we try to expose what happens behind the scenes or have the courage enough to speak up using a medium that will better reach the people instantaneously.
Also, I would think that the blog post has even spurred a good thing into action – remember the volunteer shifts organized by RockEd and Bayanihan Online? If Ella didn’t put this out in her blog, would any one of us know that the goods weren’t moving, especially when those goods are identified as emergency relief? Would DSWD really have called for volunteers when it’s apparent that they weren’t doing so?
I urge everyone to support Ella. Thank you, Tonyo.
Question lang mga peeps:
What if the points raised by the blogger is indeed has a taste of malice in content, sarcastic or whatever – but is the truth? would it still be malicious?
I think the point here is, Ella is wanting to share to the public a fact or a lie, that eventually the DSWD has a chance to prove, not by filing a libel case against Ella but by presenting their own facts and their side of the story. Show the public the truth and that is the real challenge for DSWD.
Just my 2 cents.
to marc: you have a valid question there.
it is malicious in the way it was written. it was meant to discredit the dswd, and indirectly, the head of dswd. also, the way i understood the post, ella never bothered contacting anyone in dswd who had enough authority to make any statement in behalf of dswd.
she just shot off her mouth.
if she had just put forth her concerns in a fair and straightforward manner, instead of being sarcastic, she would not have any problems right now.
true, we have freedom of speech, but it does not mean that we should abuse it.
I think it is more obvious that Cabral, a public official, is too onion-skinned.
Tanong lang po ng isang napadaan na batang paslit.
Bakit hindi nag-palabas ng report ang DSWD ng pinagdalhan ng mga natanggap nila na tulong mula sa iba’t-ibang organisasyon?
Nasaan ang “audit” ng mga ‘yun?
Sa tingin ko po, madaling patunayan na mali ang mga sinabi ni Ella, kung mali nga talaga yun.
Pero sa halip na gawin yun, nagpaka-depensib sila at dinaan sa libel case ang isyu.
Kay Manong Jigs, sarcasm = malice? WOW.
Public servant should be able to take any criticisms by the public. Or else, lahat ng sinasabi kay GMA and Erap are libelous.
accuser should prove there is malicious intent on the part of the blogger. This is why libel law is so powerful in protecting journalists.
Jigs, with your credentials (a section editor of a newspaper? Wow, really?), it’s ALSO surprising that you’re taking Cabral’s side.
for an OFW, ok to imagine your donations will be sold to malls and all that money to the pockets of the government officials.
ang mabuti pa, let donate $1 USD (lahat ng OFW to create a hitlist of all known trapo. tignan natin kung hindi tumino mga lintek na yan.
gasoline dude: ang training kasi namin is focused on giving ample opportunity for both parties to air their sides. ella did not bother getting cabral’s side. she just went ahead and started attacking the dswd with her insinuations.
It is unfair for Ella to be judged as a news writer or reporter. She’s a blogger. She’s entitled to her own opinion.
But enough of Ella. The issue here is the misuse of libel and other prerogatives by the powerful in an effort to harass valid criticisms of government.
I think Ella’s sarcastic public blogpost was meant to trigger a reaction leading to positive results (to get gov’t and the public’s awareness toward the undistributed goods promptly and direly needed by the victims during that specific time of calamity).
Her negative side comments about the DSWD were her own personal viewpoints and is too far from being malicious that merits a libel charge.
The case would obviously not prosper.
Lastly, I hope no one charges me with libel by making this public comment for all the world to see.
i still say lets leave it to the courts to decide…
we can’t deny cabral of her right to be exonerated from any wrong doing, and her right to choose whichever venue she sees fit… even if she is a public servant, she still has that right…
who are we to deny her of this right?
digital manila: what you said is an OPINION. and you did not attack anyone. no need to be afraid of being sued for libel there.
tonyo: what about the misuse of freedom of speech? exactly what was ella’s point in insinuating that the dswd were thieves? that’s the whole gist of her post.
There are blogs out there more malicious, more sarcastic and more deserving of a libel case than Ella’s. It just so happened hers got a lot of attention.
I wonder, had the controversial blog post been ignored and only Ella’s friends commented, would she still be facing a libel case? I think not.
High public officials should encourage people to speak on matters of public concern. They should even welcome criticisms because they provide clues on areas where government needs improvement.
The victims here are not Cabral and the DSWD. Its Ella, the donors and the intended beneficiaries of the relief goods stockpiled at the time in DSWD warehouses. It is fantastic and bordering on nonsense to imply or claim that Cabral is the victim here.
that’s the problem with some bloggers. they shoot off their mouths and hide behind “freedom of speech”…
mabuti pa kayong bloggers, you don’t feel the need to constrain yourselves because of journalistic guidelines. but when you misuse the right to freedom of speech, you better be prepared to face the consequences.
it is this misunderstanding of the phrase “freedom of speech” that gives bloggers the misconception that they can attack anyone without fear of prosecution.
how would you feel if i suddenly started insulting everyone in this thread, including you? would you censor my posts? if you do, then wouldn’t you be violating my freedom of speech?
that’s the thing. if ella had not been reckless, if ella had been careful with her words, this problem would be here.
ella needlessly attacked the dswd, without giving them a chance to give their explanations.
what she should have done was to ask the dswd first, and then when she got no answer, find a different way to get an answer. she did not. instead, she just came out with guns blazing, and now she’s crying foul.
yes, that’s the problem with some bloggers. the keyword there is “some”.
the entry was posted to voice out an opinion, albeit the tone used and the underlying meanings, but then again, it is an opinion. questions were asked, suggestions, though sarcastic, were presented. end of story.
I can’t wait until they start suing people because of their status updates on Facebook!
I agree. There’s a mistaken notion about free speech. Some wrongly emphasize exceptions, rather than the rule. The rule is that we have that right and we must be encouraged and given the widest latitude for free expression.
Unfortunately, the past nine years, the exception has been made the rule. We cannot rock the boat or rocking the boat is just plain bad. I hope we’re not infected with this bad way of thinking about our rights.
Ella’s post was an opinion. Cabral must respect that opinion. I think no one read it as if its a news article.
E di pati pala ako pwedeng makasuhan ng LIBEL kung mababasa ng mga taong gobyerno ang blog ko?
hmm…. sa pag kaka-alam ko ang BLOG o pagiging isang BLOGGER ay isang pang personal at malayang pag hahayag ng kung ano man nasa kanyang saloobin at ito rin ay isang paraan para mailabas at mailahad nya ang kanyang mga nakikita at napapansin sa kanyang kapaligiran.
kung ang lahat pala ng nakikita ko at napapansin ko na sa tingin ko ay mali at sa pamamagitan lamang ng pag sulat ko sa Blog ko lamang mailalabas ang aking pagka dismaya at sama ng loob eh pwede na pala akong makasuhan ng LIBELO?
hmm…..
Dear Mr. Jigs Arquiza:
Please bear in mind that Ms. Ella is merely a citizen dismayed at the incompetence of a government agency she volunteered at to help people in a time of disaster.
She is NOT A JOURNALIST BY PROFESSION, unlike you, who was trained and schooled on the requisites of responsible journalism. It is not her professional responsibility to come up to Cabral to get her ‘side of the story’. Do you think Cabral would even give her the time of day, knowing she’s not a journalist/reporter affiliated with any national newspaper?
She happened to have a PERSONAL blog where she wrote to express her dismay. Please do not forget that it was a personal blog (much like this one we are commenting on), where she writes her everyday experiences, anecdotes, and what-have-yous of her private life. It was not, and still is not (last I checked), a public online newspaper or Ezine that publishes official news/articles. I’m sure the popularity that her post gained was because, hell, the people were already frustrated at the time of the writing. If you would remember, the clamor for relief goods not being sent out on time was already loud that time.
If the government is to file libel against a personal blogger for voicing out dismay at the state of things, then I’m sorry but I think we might as well censor and restrict the Internet. Or why not ban all personal blogs, right?
And oh, this libel case? It’s like Goliath hunting down David.
It’s all about malice, isn’t it. Hard to prove in this case. It’s a lawsuit that is so way out of context and way out of proportion. If you listen to A.M. radio there’s a slander case in the making there every hour.
Very strange lawsuit and so unworthy as precedent.
“Nag “Meow” si Ella, sumagot ng Bowow” si Cabral. Ako makiki-meow na rin. Kayo, ano ho ba ang stand ninyo?
yun na nga. because blogs are already considered very influential, in the same sense as newspapers and tv, then the people posting should exercise some self-restraint.
it is easy to say “i just voiced out my opinion” but when your opinion puts an entity in a bad light, especially when you never made any effort to uncover the truth, then you are being irresponsible.
ella’s post cast doubt on dswd’s and cabral’s integrity, and that is the whole point of the exercise.
why is it that the usual defense of bloggers is “it was just an opinion”? and “freedom of speech”?
look at it this way: if ella has the right to voice out an opinion and cast doubt on the dswd’s and cabral’s integrity, then cabral also has the right to sue ella for impugning her character.
tonyo, you said this in your blog:
“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”
if that holds true for bloggers, then it should also hold true for cabral. hindi lang po ang mga bloggers ang may mga “rights”…tayo pong lahat ay may mga karapatan.
cabral has a grievance. she is entitled to redress, if we are to follow your argument.
ella should be held accountable, the same way you insist the government should be held accountable.
cabral should have freedom from persecution, the same way you insist that ella be free from persecution.
ganun lang po iyon.
@Jigs Arquiza:
When the complainant is a public figure and the matter is a public concern, the “offending” author cannot be presumed to have malice. Actual malice must be proved, and that requires “reckless disregard” for the truth. There is no proper case against Ella or any blogger who voices an opinion, no matter how wrong or defamatory, on a matter of public concern if there is no actual malice. And as case law holds, malice is intent and in the mind, something very difficult to prove.
Criticizing the present government has become the fashion among the so-called “civil society”. While criticizing government in legitimate circumstances and applying objective reasoning is necessary and should even be encouraged to keep them honest, it is my humble opinion that what is presently happening is bordering on irrationality and based on pure emotions. In fact, most government critics today seem to present the perception that everything this government does is wrong. And that, in itself is wrong as it defeats the purpose of constructive and objective analysis.
The bottom line is – bloggers, like journalists, have a responsibility to always verify their facts correctly before sharing their opinions/views to the reading public, especially if it involves the reputation of another human being. Bloggers, like journalists, are movers of opinions. This power should be used with utmost responsibility and not used in a manipulative manner such as to sway the reading public’s opinion to fit what the blogger, or journalist, wants them to believe.
@jigs arquiza eto opinion ko, wal aakong pake alam kung irespeto mo o i kondema mo, dahil hindi ako MAGALING na MAMAHAYAG , ordinaryong mamamayan lang…
sa tingin ko.. ikaw ay BAYARAN ni Cabral.. so bra mo syang depensahan, OK LNG SYO kung nangungurakot sa bayan ang taong dinedepensahan mo…
With great BLOGGING power comes great responsibility.
to hello jigs: thank you for your opinion, and for looking at the situation logically. it is just unfortunate that we see things differently. you have your opinion, i have mine. while she may not be a journalist, she should have shown restraint, or at the very least, fairness in that she should have gotten cabral’s side first. it’s the same way i would be unfair if i started saying bad things about you, when i don’t even know you at all.
to orlando r: the way the post was written, can you honestly tell me that there is a reasonable doubt that ella set out to discredit the dswd and cabral? cabral sued ella to prove that ella had a malicious intent in posting the message. you say “reckless disregard for the truth”…where was ella’s so-called “regard” for the truth when she posted the message? she was just too lazy to find the “truth”…that’s where libel comes in. she started insinuating this and that, and insinuations are speculation, not truth. for ella to win, she should show that her insinuations were true. for cabral to win, she should show that ella’s insinuation were false. it’s that simple.