Libel complaint filed against columnist for saying Osmeña fabricated cases against city treasurer
Tomas Osmeña, former mayor and congressman of Cebu City, has filed two libel complaints against broadcaster-columnist Bobby Nalzaro for purportedly maligning him in newspaper columns.
Osmeña asked the prosecutor’s office to indict Nalzaro for libel, punishable under Article 363 of the Revised Penal Code and Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act since a digital version of the columns were posted on the Internet.
Nalzaro, popularly known in the Visayas as “Super Bob”, anchors the nightly news program 24 Oras Central Visayas in GMA 7 and a morning radio program over radio station dySS, where he is station manager. He also writes an opinion column in Sun Star Cebu and Sun Star Super Balita.
Osmeña’s complaint was filed with the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office last week based on Nalzaro’s newspaper column published on Oct. 25 in Sun Star Cebu.
Osmeña claimed that Nalzaro accused him of fabricating charges against Cebu City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas.
“A fabrication means that I invented the charge or allegation. Absent any proof, the article must be considered as a false accusation against me that was made publicly to besmirch my name and integrity,” said Osmeña in his sworn affidavit.
The former mayor had earlier filed 38 counts in an administrative complaint against Cuevas before the Department of Finance over alleged lapses in handling financial transactions of Cebu City based on findings of the 2012 and 2013 audit reports of the Commission on Audit (COA).
In his Oct. 25 column, Nalzaro wrote that Osmeña fabricated “some” of the charges he filed against Cuevas in an attempt to sabotage the administration of Mayor Michael Rama.
Osmeña challenged the columnist to prove that he fabricated charges against Cuevas.
“If he can successfully do so, then I will withdraw this case. I may even be satisfied if he can prove that just one of the cases I filed against Diwa Cuevas was fabricated and not based on the COA reports,” he said.
Osmeña said the statements were “malicious.”
“While I do understand that a wider latitude is taken in libel cases against me because I am known publicly, the Supreme Court has categorically ruled that in defamations that do not qualify as conditionally privileged communication, malice is presumed and need not be proven,” he said.
Sought for comment yesterday, Nalzaro said the libel suit was intended to stop him from further criticizing Osmeña.
“He has the prerogative to file a case against me. And I will answer that in the proper forum. But this is my theory. This case is intended to stop me from further commenting against him. This is legal harassment. But this will not stop me from raising legitimate issues against him,” Nalzaro told CDN over the phone.
Nalzaro clarified that he doesn’t personally know Cuevas whom Osmeña has sued for “acts of omission” that resulted in adverse audit opinion from COA.
But Nalzaro said he took pity on Cuevas who was clearly caught in the political crossfire between Osmeña and Rama.
“What was his (Osmeña) agenda in filing the administrative charges against Cuevas? If there was anything controversial in what Cuevas had been doing, COA should be the first place to file charges against the city treasurer. Why does it have to be Tomas who would go after Cuevas?,” he said.
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