The Supreme Court has affirmed the libel conviction of broadcast journalist Raffy Tulfo in connection with a column he wrote in 2003.
In an April 10 decision seen Thursday, the Third Division also ordered Tulfo and representatives of Abante Tonite's publisher to pay businessman Michael Guy P500,000 in moral damages, P1 million in exemplary damages, and P211,200 in attorney's fees.
The amount reflected an increase from the P500,000 in moral damages and P211,200 in attorney's fees that the Court of Appeals (CA) ordered the accused to pay Guy in 2014.
"Here, respondents published the libelous article without verifying the truth of the allegations against petitioner," the Court held in an 18-page decision.
The Makati City Regional Trial Court convicted Tulfo and the other respondents of libel in 2010.
The CA affirmed the judgment with a modification on the amount of damages in 2013 and 2014.
Guy then elevated his case to the High Court to seek P5 million in moral damages. However, agreeing with the appeals court, the Third Division found that Guy "failed to substantiate the loss he had allegedly sustained."
"His allegation of possibly earning P50,000,000.00 in 10 years is a mere assumption without any foundation. This bare allegation is insufficient to prove that he has indeed lost P5,000,000.00 as earnings," the Court ruled.
The decision was penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen with concurrences from Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Andres Reyes, Jr., Ramon Paul Hernando, and Rosmari Carandang.
The ruling came with a reminder for journalists that "crafting inaccurate and misleading news is a blatant violation of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics."
"As such, journalists should observe high standards expected from their profession. They must take responsibility for the accuracy of their work, careful never to deliberately distort facts or context by verifying information before releasing it for public consumption," the Court said. —NB, GMA News
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