(CMFR/IFEX) – A libel suit filed against former broadcaster and current Vice President Noli de Castro has been dismissed by a Manila court. In a 20 December 2004 order, Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Wilfredo Reyes dropped the libel case filed by businessman Rafael Engle against de Castro, because of the businessman’s failure to establish […]
(CMFR/IFEX) – A libel suit filed against former broadcaster and current Vice President Noli de Castro has been dismissed by a Manila court.
In a 20 December 2004 order, Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Wilfredo Reyes dropped the libel case filed by businessman Rafael Engle against de Castro, because of the businessman’s failure to establish a link between the damages he claimed to have suffered and an episode of the “Magandang Gabi Bayan” (MGB) television programme.
In his suit, Engle alleged that an MGB episode, which was aired in September 1995, imputed the disappearance of his wife Daisy on him. He claimed the show destroyed his reputation and led to the filing of a criminal case against him. De Castro hosted the programme at the time.
However, the court dismissed the case on the grounds of “prescription”, saying too much time had elapsed between the airing of the MGB episode and the filing of the suit. The suit was filed on 21 April 2004, about five years after the allowable four-year period for the complaint to remain valid under law had elapsed.
Lawyer Maricris Pahate of the Andres, Marcelo, Padernal, Guerrero and Paras law office (AMPGP), which represented de Castro in the case, said the dismissal of the case showed that Engle “merely intended to harass” and “undermine” de Castro’s candidacy during the election campaign period in the summer of 2004.
Even with the dismissal of the libel case, lawyer Armando Marcelo said de Castro would not drop his P200 million (approx. US$3.6 million) counter suit against Engle. He said the vice president would use any damages he would win in the case to fund a scholarship programme for poor students.
This alert was based on information contained in the 23 December 2004 editions of “The Philippine Star” and “Manila Bulletin”.
