The Supreme Court has affirmed the libel conviction of showbiz columnist Cristinelli “Cristy” Fermin and ordered her to pay a Php6,000 fine and Php500,000 each to Annabelle Rama Gutierrez and her husband, Eddie Gutierrez, for moral damages.
In its 24-page decision penned by Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura, the Court’s Third Division affirmed the Sept. 3, 2002 decision of the Court of Appeals (CA), which had convicted Fermin of libel while acquitting her co-respondent Bogs Tugas.
Fermin and Tugas were the publisher and editor-in-chief, respectively, of Gossip Tabloid which had published a derogatory article on June 14, 1995 alleging that the Gutierrezes fled to the Philippines after pocketing the proceeds from the sale of expensive cookware instead of remitting the money to the manufacturer in the United States. The article also alleged that Annabelle was a heavy gambler.
“To say that the article, in its entirety, is not libelous disturbs one’s sensibilities; it would certainly prick one’s conscience. There is evident imputation of the crime of malversation; of vices or defects for being fugitives from the law; and of being a wastrel. The attribution was made publicly….The victims were identified and identifiable. More importantly, the article reeks of malice, as it tends to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of the complainants,” the Court said.
The Court said that Fermin and Tugas failed to adduce evidence to show the truth of the allegations in the article despite the opportunity to do so. It found Fermin’s arguments “too simplistic,” stressing that as publisher, president, and chairperson of Gossip Tabloid, she had “full control over the publication of articles in the said tabloid.”
The Court, however, said it cannot reinstate the ruling of the trial court convicting Tugas following his acquittal by the CA. Fermin and Tugas were convicted by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, Branch 218. Upon appeal, the CA upheld Fermin’s conviction but acquitted Tugas. (GR 157643, Fermin v. People, March 20, 2008)
