Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13) — Journalist Frank Cimatu has been convicted of cyber liber over a Facebook post he made in 2017 about former Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol.
Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 93 found Cimatu “guilty beyond reasonable doubt” of cyber libel charges under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 filed by Piñol.
The court sentenced the Baguio-based journalist with up to five years, five months, and 11 days of imprisonment, and ordered him to pay ₱300,000 to Piñol as moral damages.
In the 19-page decision dated Dec. 12, Presiding Judge Evangeline Cabochan-Santos said Cimatu’s post with the message, “Agri Sec got rich by 21 M in 6 months. Bird flu pa more!” has the intention to “injure the reputation, credit and virtue of Piñol and expose him to public hatred, discredit, contempt and ridicule.”
Cabochan-Santos added that Cimatu “made it appear” that the 2017 DA chief committed corrupt acts and gained ₱21 million within six months on account of a crisis in the country.
“Taking into consideration the words used by Cimatu and the subject Facebook post which appears to be an imputation of a crime, the same is defamatory and thus, satisfy the first element of the crime of Cyberlibel,” the decision read.
Cimatu argued that he made his Facebook post private since it was only published to be seen by his Facebook friends. However, the court said it was immaterial and that the post was initially published publicly.
Cabochan-Santos further ruled that Cimatu also failed to show any proof that “his post was done in good faith.”
According to the court, Piñol read Cimatu’s Facebook post and left a comment to explain his side of the story.
“Despite this, Cimatu did not relent in his actions, but went on to continue defaming the private complainant. This is a clear indication of the intention of accused to malign Piñol, no matter the cost, and is clearly proof of malice,” the decision stated.
Similar with any decision by a lower court, this ruling can still be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.
Decriminalize libel
“As a journalist, I believe that we have to decriminalize libel especially when the law is weaponized on us,” Cimatu told CNN Philippines. “We hope to craft our appeal before the year ends.”
Cimatu deemed the case “long-drawn” which took him “a lot of time and effort.”
“At the start, I was followed by thousands of his followers who really pestered me so I had to be very careful with my posts for fear of being reported. But we will not be dissuaded,” he added.
“A threat to press freedom is a threat to democracy. An attack on one is an attack on all. No one should be silenced for being critical on the most pressing issues,” said online news organization Rappler, following its contributor’s conviction.
Rappler backed its statement with a photo calling to decriminalize libel. Following its CEO, Nobel laureate Maria Ressa, and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr., Cimatu is the third Rappler journalist to be found guilty of cyber libel.
“This is another example of the weaponization of the cybercrime law to harass and intimidate journalists. We stand behind Frank Cimatu, and together, we #HoldTheLine,” Ressa stressed.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) also expressed support for Cimatu, saying that his conviction is “very concerning” and highlights the need to decriminalize libel.
“No person should spend a day in jail for expressing an opinion or reporting the news. Criminal libel is an assault on democracy and freedom of expression,” HRW said.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned the “use of cyber libel” against Cimatu and conveyed support for the journalist’s plan to appeal the conviction.
“With due respect to the local court’s decision, NUJP maintains that the right to free expression and press freedom is paramount especially when exercised in relation to public officials. A powerful politician such as Piñol crying foul over a Facebook post of a community journalist is ironic in a supposed democratic country,” NUJP said.
“Under the comments on the same post, Piñol himself issued threats and derogatory remarks against Cimatu. Online trolls flooded Cimatu’s Facebook account with vitriol,” the group added.
READ: Ex-DA chief hails conviction of journalist over cyber libel
