DOJ Approves Libel Case Against Archbishop Oscar Cruz

Written on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 at 4:14 am | by Nick

A libel case which was filed by 19 employees of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR), has been approved by The Department of Justice. The case was filed based on an article written by Archbishop Cruz (June 28, 2004) that the women of PAGCOR were made to act like GRO’s during the birthday party of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo (June 25, 2004).

The women had originally filed a case back in 2004, and even though the case was already junked by a prosecutor in Manila, the DOJ felt it within their national duty to proceed with the filing,

The DoJ, in a nine-page resolution issued in April 14, ordered the immediate filling of libel charges against Archbishop Cruz and junking of an earlier resolution of Manila prosecutor which dismissed the libel complaint filed by 20 female employees of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) and the Office of the First Gentleman against the prelate over a defamatory news article some four years ago.

It has been the defense of the Arroyo Adminsitration for a while now, to let loose libel suits and hand them out like candy. For archbishop Oscar Cruz, I thought he would at least be spared that tactic. But to an administration that is hell bent on staying afloat, from crisis to crisis, from scandal to scandal, and from controversy to controversy, we cannot rule out any such delicadeza on their part.

The departments, I mean all of them, are in the Arroyo camp. In this government big political decisions most assuredly has to come from the top. Strategy is the key word here, and if the President were to make one phone call, say maybe “Hello Raul”, libel charges would probably be dropped. But such is not the politics of Arroyo, and we cannot expect her to change. And Raul Gonzalez will continue to tow the Palace line.

Furthermore, the libel charges are from an article he wrote back in 2004 regarding the women of Pagcor. In which The Archbishop stated that it was as if they were GRO’s for the party of Mike Arroyo. If this little gem wasn’t meant to be a rainy day libel suit, then such a suit should have been filed way back when the actual article came out. It’s a rainy day fund, only it’s for libel suits.

I have been an interesting bystander when it came to the bishop, he has some opinions that I cannot agree with, but oftentimes his views and statements are too logical to refute, and too just to shy away from. He has strong opinions, and I guess for The Arroyo Administration, the combination of an opinionionated Bishop is something they cannot risk at this moment.

And even though I have my disagreements with the Bishop, I have one strong admiration for this man, and that admiration is rooted in the fact that he does not tow the Church line, he has independent thoughts and that my dear friends is a sign of integrity.

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About The Author: Nick is a passionate Filipino, and a political junkie. His personal blog is at Tingog - The Voice of The Filipino. He is the founder and Editor not Chief of FilipinoVoices.com. He has been blogging since 2006.

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4 Responses to “DOJ Approves Libel Case Against Archbishop Oscar Cruz”

  1. cocoy on April 26th, 2008 9:18 am

    “And even though I have my disagreements with the Bishop, I have one strong admiration for this man, and that admiration is rooted in the fact that he does not tow the Church line, he has independent thoughts and that my dear friends is a sign of integrity.”

    yep. true enough.

  2. Lester Cavestany on April 26th, 2008 8:33 pm

    I think this is part of the government’s campaign against what they consider as abuse of freedom of expression.

  3. Nick on April 27th, 2008 5:53 pm

    Lester, and I guess what the government is doing is in the interest of the nation (rhetorical)..

    This is, and always has been the clear indication of a paranoid government, who cannot risk opening itself up to criticism, because within that firing line, is the truth that they are screwing up the lives of Filipinos.

    The paranoia exists, and it takes the DOJ to implement the paranoid reaction of an embattled president.

    Freedom of expression, well at least it’s only libel. Many others may have lost their lives because they have gone above the limit which the government considers abuse..

  4. Lester Cavestany on April 28th, 2008 10:38 am

    Yes. We all saw how the government treated the members of the media when Sen Trillanes and his group were at the Intercon.

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