Richard Gutierrez loses case vs PEP
MANILA – Actor Richard Gutierrez has lost his legal battle with Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP) after the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed the libel suit he filed against the entertainment Web site.
The resolution, penned by Associate Prosecutor Mary Jane Sytat, cited "lack of probable cause" in dismissing Gutierrez’s libel complaint against editor-in-chief Jo-Ann Maglipon, managing editor Karen Pagsolingan and writer Ferdinand "Bong" Godinez.
The resolution acknowledged that PEP committed a lapse when it published a story on the gun-toting incident allegedly involving Gutierrez and fellow actor Michael Flores in March. The article, Gutierrez complained, gave an impression that he was a troublemaker.
Gutierrez further stated that such bad reputation could affect his image as an actor and product endorser.
The resolution, however, opposed the actor’s argument, maintaining that PEP’s "lapse" did not constitute an “imputation of a discreditable act or condition to another.”
“No evidence was presented which would prove that a reasonable mind, in this case that of the public or the readers, would believe that complainant was a troublemaker based on the statements in the questioned article,” the resolution said.
The resolution also pointed out that the complainant failed to prove that the publication of the PEP article “was attended with malice.”
It cited Maglipon’s apology and order to immediately pullout the article and PEP’s attempt to get Flores’ side of the story as “sufficient evidence to show that the respondents have no desire to deliberately injure the reputation of the complainant.”
The resolution admonished the young actor for being “onion-skinned.” It said as a public figure he should be able to “absorb the thrust of public scrutiny.”
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