ARRESTED FOR LIBEL. A National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) employee gets the fingerprints of Mellow Touch broadcaster Ronnie Waniwan following his arrest in downtown Cagayan de Oro on Saturday in connection with a decided libel case in Gingoog City. Waniwan faulted his previous lawyer for allegedly “abandoning” the case. (PHOTO BY NITZ ARANCON)
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By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent

THE lawyer of radio commentator and candidate for councilor Ronnie Waniwan is planning on filing a petition in the hope that the Court of Appeals (CA) would allow the arrested broadcaster to bail out.

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Waniwan’s lawyer, Councilor Leon Gan, said this even as he told reporters he suspected that partisan politics was behind the arrest of his client in connection with a libel case that has been decided by a court in Gingoog City.

Gan noted that the man who sued Waniwan, SPO4 Tito Buadlart, served as a security aide of former Gingoog mayor Ruthie Guingona whose children–Sen. Teofisto Guingona III and Gingoog Mayor Marie Guingona–are candidates of the administration Liberal Party.

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National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) regional director Angelito Magno said Gan could file a petition for additional bailbond before the CA but while waiting for the appellate court to act on it, the Bureau would hand over Waniwan to a court in Gingoog so he could start serving a three-year sentence.

Officers of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) sounded alarm bells, saying Waniwan has expressed apprehensions about being brought to the Gingoog city jail because of threats he allegedly received there.

In a statement, the COPC expressed dismay over Waniwan’s arrest which it said highlighted the need to decriminalize the libel law.

“The libel law has been used, in most instances, to stifle press freedom,” reads part of the COPC statement.

The COPC also said Waniwan’s arrest had a “chilling effect” on other media workers who want to tackle wrongdoings especially in government.

Waniwan, a commentator at Mellow Touch 95.7 Fm here, was arrested by NBI director Magno himself while he was attending a class for a doctorate degree at Grand City Hotel on Saturday morning.

Magno said there was a Feb. 16, 2016 warrant of arrest issued by Judge Giovanni Navarro of the Regional Trial Court Branch 27 in Gingoog City in connection with the broadcaster’s conviction resulting from the 2005 case filed by SPO4 Buadlart. Convicted, Waniwan was sentenced by Navarro to three years of imprisonment plus P300 thousand in damages.

Buadlart had sued Waniwan for libel because of his stinging commentaries aired during his program “Lampornas” at Beat Radio in Gingoog years ago.

Waniwan said he only learned of Navarro’s decision in Oct. 13, 2015, and he filed an appeal before the CA through lawyer Bember Apepe.

His appeal was dismissed by the CA on Jan. 25,  2016. “Ang rason sa CA nga gi-abandon kuno sa akong abogado ang akong appeal, mao nang ilang gi-dismiss.”

Waniwan said he filed in Feb. 16, through his new lawyer, a manifestation before the CA to inform the justices about how his previous lawyer handled the case.

He said he filed the manifestation the same day Judge Navarro issued the arrest order.

“Natingala ko ani kay sa akong nasabtan, ang lower court, dili pa makalihok sa iyang decision kon ang mga dokumento nga nasang-at sa CA,  dili pa mabalik sa iyang korte,” Waniwan said.

At the NBI, former mayor Vicente Emano visited Waniwan, one of the candidates for city councilor under the ex-mayor’s Padayon Pilipino ticket.

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