S1L29 – Blind Items and the law on Libel
Blind items are an item again nowadays after President Duterte exploded his “bomb” about a presidential candidate snorting cocaine.
In Ilocano there’s a saying “nu sino mangan sili isu magasangan” (or maybe it’s a Cordilleran adage, I just happen to know only the Ilocano translation?) Therefore, people waited to see who would come out with the most furious denial—to no avail. What else would you expect? People who do drugs are trying to escape the surly bounds of this earth into an alternate psychedelic universe. To me that sounds like the ultimate form of being in denial. So denying a simple news item like that shouldn’t be a problem.
Duterte is a lawyer, in case you’ve forgotten, so he knows blind items are the worst form of libel—and the only kind impossible to prosecute.
The challenge to those of us who teach law is how to deliver subject matter like that without your class falling asleep. Law is inherently boring so I have to admit I fail that test quite a lot myself but I keep trying.
Fortunately, I have law students who “jump” me and keep me sharp. When I’m still discussing ‘Section 10’ of whatever law, guys like Juan Dimacaawat and Jack Makataruz would have pre-read all the way up 10 or 15 sections ahead. Kata Ngahan would have read even twice farther up. Deema Niwala would have been done with the whole textbook just in the middle of the semester. So I knew explaining “blind libel” to them would be a piece of cake. Or not.
“Mr. Cabo Buhan, are you around?”
“Yes, sir, right here!” This is my pre-med guy who once injected his own sperm into a chicken egg with a hypodermic needle. When the egg actually hatched he panicked and quickly cremated his ‘Genesis’ project, then uploaded the video on YouTube where it went viral.
“Cabo somebody slipped me a note yesterday that said ‘there’s a pre-med law student who performs illegal abortions in his garage’ I want to hear your comment about that…”
He quickly turned around to Jack Makataruz who was sitting behind him, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and said, “ikaw nagsulat nun anoh?!”
Were it not for the fact the whole class was laughing, I think he would have rearranged Jack’s face. I knew, of course, it was just a joke—even though for a moment there I saw morbid fear in Jack’s chinky eyes.
“Let go of Mr. Makataruz, Cabo, the guy hasn’t sired any heirs yet, give him a chance,” I said, “just tell your classmates why you reacted that way.”
“Sir because ‘blind items’ are the refuge of the coward who is not man enough to face his adversary and prefers to hide behind anonymity!” Cabo recited, looking up at the ceiling—I know he’s trying to visualize the text of a case I asked them to read. Also I could hear Deema whispering to him the magic phrase, “Villaluz versus Encarnacion, refuge of cowards…!”
When I threw my glance at her, Deema pretended to be fixing her left eyebrow with her forefinger.
“You know class, when you’ve become lawyers, some of you will lose much of their court appearance fees to direct contempt penalties.” Deema moved on to her right eyebrow.
“Anyway, Mr. Buhan, so you think unlawful aggression towards a random victim is a justifiable reaction?”
“No, sir, I overreacted to that libelous note but only because it is human nature to adopt a posture of self-defense and it cannot be helped that sometimes physical aggression is an element of that defense,” said the premed guy who obviously has a very biological perspective.
“Hmmm…offense is an element of defense,” I muttered aloud—slowly—to make sure he understood the summary of his answer, “and it includes aggressive physical action…hmm”
“Can I change my answer, sir?” Cabo pleaded when he noticed there were two ball pens on my desk and I went for the red one.
“Well, let’s see if your classmates will allow you. Under what title of crimes does libel belong, Miss Deema?”
“Crimes Against Honor, sir.”
“Really??” I feigned surprise, “you mean libel is NOT found under Crimes Against Persons, like murder, homicide, serious physical injury etc?”
“No, sir, libel has no physical component that’s why you cannot invoke self-defense as a defense against libel,” Deema said with her eyes closed—and that’s not a figure of speech.
“Did you get that class, especially you Mr. Buhan?” The whole class said “Yeeees, siiiir…!” except one—I mean, except Juan.
“Mr. Dimacaawat, you wanted to say something?”
Juan Dimacaawat stood up, left his chair and walked up to my desk, put one hand on my desk, turned around to his classmates and spoke with a loud booming voice.
“Your Honor, I would like to withdraw the defense earlier submitted by my client, Cabo Buhan!”
The class went “Ooooooooh…..!”
“SERIOUSLY??” I said, half laughing, totally amused by the display of braggadocio.
“Objection, Your Honor!” Deema blurted out when she realized she had just been upstaged, “Practice Court is MWF, today is Thusday, Criminal Law day. Practice Court was yesterday and Counsel was absent!”
“I realize that, Miss Deema, so perhaps this is an urgent motion. The Court will hear the argument of Counsel—and it better be good!” I said with a fake angry tone.
“Thank you, Your Honor,” Juan said after making sure he had established eye contact with me. At least I know they were paying attention when I told the class to always thank the court every chance they get.
“My client has no need of ANY defense because he is not an offended party. The libelous note is anonymous and it did not name him specifically. The allegation of a premed law student committing the crime of intentional abortion is too broad and generic. There are thousands of law students and any number of them could be premed undergrads. That description is not exclusively pertaining to my client, Cabo Buhan.”
“You do realize your client owned up to the description, don’t you?” Deema said.
“I’m sorry, who did you say you represented in this proceedings, Atty. Deema?” I asked mockingly.
“I DIDN’T SAY, Your Honor. I didn’t have to. I’m representing the State. The State is an interested party in all proceedings of any nature in any tribunal at any time if it invokes the ‘parens patriae’ doctrine which I am invoking now.”
I hate—or maybe I’m awed—how this girl knows all the answers. Fortunately, I’m playing instant judge for the time being and when you’re the judge all you have to do is frown and keep silent. Let the lawyers debate among themselves.
Juan Dimacaawat started it, “No, no, no—” (I didn’t realize my class was picking up on that triple-NO verbal mannerism of mine!) “It is not enough that a person sees himself as fitting a particular description, other third parties should see him and make the same association in order for it to be an effective identification.”
“Well, I see him and make the same association. I’m convinced he is the premed law student being alluded to,” Deema said.
“That’s because you know my client. But other people who don’t know him will not think of him necessarily when they read that description,” Juan countered.
“And you think because the description cannot exclusively pertain to Mr. Cabo Buhan, there is no cause of action for libel?” I asked, just to guide the two lawyer wannabes.
“There is, Your Honor, because the note maliciously ascribes a crime upon a person, it is clearly libelous, except it cannot be prosecuted. There is an act, there is a law punishing it, so there is a crime. But we cannot identify the victim, and therefore we don’t have a complainant.” Juan Dimacaawat thundered away.
“Atty. Deema? Have you run out of objections?”
“I have, Your Honor, that’s why I am not objecting to the dismissal of this case anymore,” Deema said. I thought I would never live to see the day when this girl would actually lose an argument.
But I spoke too soon.
“I just want to manifest something for the record, Your Honor…”
“Go ahead, Atty. Deema “
“Atty. Dimacaawat is correct that the lack of effective identification would make a case of libel fail. But it was his client Mr. Cabo Buhan who is complaining erroneously that he had been libeled. That means he is counsel for the complainant, now he wants the case dismissed. So I move that Atty. Juan Dimacaawat be censured for wasting the precious time and resources of the State. Why did he file the complaint in the first place?”
“Hahahahaha!!!” I never laughed so hard in class before. Soon enough the whole class was laughing with me and everybody was shaking hands with Deema.
The author is a writer and lawyer based in Baguio City, Philippines. Former editor of the Gold Ore and Baguio City Digest, professor of journalism, political science and law at Baguio Colleges Foundation (BCF). He is a photographer and video documentarist. He has a YouTube channel called “Parables and Reason”