SC clears libel jurisdiction

“A public officer may file a libel case in the regional trial court where he or she held office or in the province where the libelous article was printed and first published.”

This was the gist of the decision issued by the Supreme Court as it denied petition for review filed by columnist Jerry Yap, managing editor Gloria Galuno and circulation manager Edwin Alcala of the tabloid, ‘Hataw.’

The motion by the accused sought the reversal of decisions issued by the Regional Trial Court of Manila and the Court of Appeals (CA) which turned down their motion to quash the information for libel filed against them by Police Senior Inspector Rosalino Ibay Jr.

The dismissal of the libel case on the ground of lack of jurisdiction of the Manila RTC was sought by the respondents.

They argued that the Manila RTC committed grave abuse of discretion when it denied their motion for dismissal on March 9 2016 that led to the setting of their arraignment last April 13, 2016.

Despite the lower court’s rebuff, the accused then elevated the case to the CA, which, on May 6, 2016, affirmed the Manila RTC’s decision.

The accused argued before the SC that the Manila RTC had no jurisdiction to try the case considering that the information did not cite why they were filed in the said court.

The petitioners stressed that the Manila RTC has no jurisdiction over the libel case since Ibay was no longer assigned in Manila, as stated in the alleged libelous article.

In its 12-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the Court’s Third Division affirmed the rulings issued by the Manila RTC and the CA.

It held that under Article 360 of the Revised Penal Code and  based on its on its previous rulings, “when an offended party is a public officer, they may institute the action for libel in the Regional Trial Court where they held office, or in the province or city where the libelous article was printed and first published.”

“Contrary to petitioners’ argument, a public officer is not restricted in filing a complaint for libel in the city or province where they held office. Here it was not a jurisdictional defect whether respondent still held office in Manila when the articles were published, since the information alleged that the articles were ‘printed and first published in the City of Manila,’” the Court said.

The libel case stemmed from an article published on October 3, 2014 by the petitioners about an alleged notorious drug pusher in Tondo who had been in and out of jail during the time when Ibay was still assigned in the area.

During the pendency of the case, Ibay has since risen to the police rank as colonel while Yap died in November 2021.