The Court of Appeals (CA) in Manila has turned down a reconsideration motion filed by the president's spouse, Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, to stop the hearing of the class suit filed against him by 36 journalists and three media organisations, the Manila-based Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) has reported.
On February 24, the CA's former Seventh Division affirmed its September 22, 2008 ruling to allow the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) to continue hearing the multi-million-dollar class suit filed by journalists and media organisations against Arroyo. The decision was penned by Associate Justice Fernanda Lampas Peralta. Associate Justices Edgardo Cruz and Normandie Pizarro concurred with the decision.
Thirty-six journalists together with CMFR, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and the newspaper the Daily Tribune filed a P12.5 million (approx US$257,000) class suit against Arroyo on December 28, 2006 in response to the numerous libel suits he filed against journalists. They argued that the 11 libel suits filed by Arroyo against 46 journalists and media practitioners abused his right to litigate and was an attack on press freedom. Libel is a criminal offence in the Philippines.
The appellate court said Arroyo failed to present new arguments against the case and that it "need not discuss all over again the same issues it had previously resolved."
"To be sure, the present motion for reconsideration does not present any new issue which has not been addressed in the court's decision. The motion for reconsideration merely invokes rulings in certain cases already cited in the petition and memorandum of petitioner," the CA said.
The appellate court emphasised in its February 24 ruling that Arroyo "may (still) present evidence to prove his allegation of bad faith in filing the amended complaint" during the preliminary hearing on the affirmative defenses before the Makati RTC. "The trial court may also order the re-assessment of the docket fees and if there is any deficiency, it shall order private respondents to pay the same within a reasonable period," the CA added.
It also stated that its decision is only on the issue of whether the Makati RTC acted in grave abuse of discretion tantamount to lack of jurisdiction, when it admitted the amended complaint in the class suit. Said CA resolution did not address the merits of the civil action suit. It said the merits of the case would be addressed in the proceedings conducted by the Makati RTC.
Arroyo filed the motion for reconsideration on October 16, 2008 saying that the CA "acted contrary to law when it held that the respondent judge did not commit grave abuse in admitting the amended complaint considering its lack of jurisdiction over the complaint" in its September 22, 2008 decision denying his petition for certiorari.
Arroyo filed a petition for certiorari in 2007 saying that Makati RTC Branch 143 judge Zenaida Galapate Laguilles committed "grave abuse of discretion" for admitting the journalists? amended complaint despite the "non-payment of the proper docket fees".
A certiorari is a writ that could be issued by a superior court to a lower court to annul or modify ongoing proceedings if the latter court acted on a case outside its jurisdiction.
