by Don Gil K. Carreon
A blog on the alleged swindling of an Australian by a Filipino socialite is raising questions on the Philippine libel law’s ability to serve as a deterrent against defamation in a world that is increasingly becoming borderless due to the Internet.
Since March 4, Australian Brian Gorrell has been churning out unflattering (others might call them defamatory) articles in his blog against his former lover, former Philippine Star lifestyle columnist DJ Montano, as well as Montano’s friends. Gorrell stated that he started the blog to shame his former lover into returning his life savings of $70000 (Australian), which he alleged Montano duped him out of, and which he needs to pay for his HIV treatment.
Filing a libel suit against Gorell in the Philippines won’t be of much help, as he has been posting his entries against Montano and his friends in Australia.
This unique situation has also prompted members of the Philippine legal community to pay attention to Gorrell’s blog, which averages more than 36,000 visitors daily.
In an interview in Media in Focus last March 27, University of the Philippines law professor JJ Disini said at least some of Gorrell’s posts in his blog are libelous. He said that while some of the characters subjected to libelous statements by Gorrell are famous, the allegations made are unrelated to their fame.
Aside from alleging that Montano owes him money, Gorell has also claimed that Montano and some of his socialite friends, whom he also identified, are cocaine users. He said that the articles against his ex-lover’s friends are meant to pressure them to convince Montano to return his money.
The panelists in the Media in Focus episode said Gorrell should return to the Philippines and file charges against Montano who can then file libel charges against Gorrell. But the Australian has stated that he does not intend to battle Montano in the courts in the Philippines, which he described as having a corrupt law process.
In a report on the Philippine Daily Inquirer last April 12, Montano’s lawyer, Jose Oliveros, said they were considering filing a criminal complaint for libel against Gorrell and civil cases of tort or damages in Australia and in the United States against the US company hosting Gorrell’s blog.
The panelists in the Media in Focus episode said this option is indeed open to Montano, but said it would be “tedious” and “expensive,” as it would indeed be. |
