(CMFR/IFEX) – The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the conviction of a journalist on 14 counts of libel arising from several articles he had written nearly a decade ago about a customs officer. “Abante Tonite” newspaper columnist and part-time television broadcaster Raffy Tulfo had been convicted by Judge Priscilla Mijares of the Pasay City […]
(CMFR/IFEX) – The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the conviction of a journalist on 14 counts of libel arising from several articles he had written nearly a decade ago about a customs officer.
“Abante Tonite” newspaper columnist and part-time television broadcaster Raffy Tulfo had been convicted by Judge Priscilla Mijares of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court, sentencing him to two years, four months and one day in prison for each of the 14 counts – equivalent to 32 years and eight months – plus a fine of over Php14.7 million (US$285,000).
In its 31 July 2006 resolution, the CA said the prosecution had successfully proven that Tulfo’s stories were written in “reckless disregard” for the truth.
According to the decision, complainant Carlos So, a former Bureau of Customs intelligence officer, was pictured as an extortionist, smuggler, grafter, corrupt public official, womanizer and a violator of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, among others.
