FORMER University of the Philippines College
of Law dean Raul Pangalangan will take the witness stand today
when hearing resumes on the multimillion peso class suit filed
by journalists against several government officials for their
arrest while covering the Manila Peninsula Hotel standoff caused
by Sen. Antonio Trillanes last November.
Rommel Bagares, a lawyer of the complainants,
said Pangalangan will testify as an expert witness before Makati
RTC branch 56 Judge Reynaldo Laigo. "He will be presented as an
expert witness to testify on the constitutional issues
surrounding the case and the arbitrary arrest of journalists,"
Bagares said.
Aside from Pangalangan, Jose Torres,
president of the National Union of Journalists of the
Philippines will also testify in today's hearing on the scope of
the journalists' work and the threats encountered by media
practitioners in the country.
The complainants said they might also put
NUJP's Inday Varona and one of the arrested reporters on the
stand before wrapping up the presentation of their case.
Last week, another expert witness, former UP
Mass Communications dean Luis Teodoro testified that there is a
"continuing threat to press freedom" in the country brought
about by the spate of warnings and advisories issued by
high-ranking government officials, particularly Justice
Secretary Raul Gonzalez following the Nov. 29 incident.
He said Gonzalez's advisory threatening with
arrest any media practitioner who obstructs military or police
operations constitutes "prior restraint" on the journalists'
conduct of their duties and responsibilities.
During Pangalangan's term as UP Law dean, the
said institute issued a legal opinion that the controversial
"Hello Garci" tapes - the wiretapped phone conversation between
President Arroyo and election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano
over alleged cheating in the 2004 elections - can be played in
Congress and was admissible as evidence in court.
Under his leadership, the College of Law was
also among the first to call for President Arroyo's resignation
in the aftermath of the "Hello Garci" scandal. Members of its
faculty were also the ones who studied and pointed out the
alleged irregularities in the multimillion Northrail contract
entered into by the government with China which was the subject
of a Senate investigation.
Respondents in the class suit are Gonzalez,
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Interior secretary Ronaldo
Puno, PNP chief Avelino Razon, AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon,
Metro Manila police chief Geary Barias, PNP-CIDG chief Asher
Dolina and PNP Special Action Force commander Leocadio Santiago.
Teodoro has already petitioned the court to throw out the
suit for lack of merit. Through his counsel, he said the
plaintiff-journalists failed to declare how he, by an act or
omission violated the journalists' legal right causing them
injury. Teodoro had expressed support for the police action to
clear the Peninsula of civilians, including reporters, after the
fact. He is the first government official to file a motion to
dismiss the class suit. - Ashzel Hachero
