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	Bishop's Move to Post Bail a 'Good Move,' Says DOJ Chief GMA News May 15, 2008 http://www.gmanews.tv/story/95327/Bishops-move-to-post-bail-a-good-move-says-DOJ-chief MANILA, Philippines - Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez on Thursday welcomed as a "good" gesture the decision of Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz to post bail Wednesday after a Manila court ordered his arrest over a libel suit leveled against him. In a radio interview, Gonzalez said Cruz, who with his lawyer Estelito Mendoza posted bail before a Manila court Wednesday, showed he is respecting the legal process. "That's good because that shows he's respecting the process," Gonzalez said in an interview on dwIZ radio. But Gonzalez still took a dig at Cruz for supposedly threatening to dramatize his plight by allowing himself to be arrested and detained. He also questioned Cruz for hiring a high-powered lawyer like Mendoza, who served as one of former President Joseph Estrada's defense lawyers during his impeachment and plunder trials. "Primero sinasabi magpapamartir siya, di siya magbe-bail, papasok sa bilangguan. He wants to dramatize the situation siya inaapi but nag-bail siya. At very high-powered ang lawyer na kinuha niya, si Estelito Mendoza (At first he said he will play martyr and will not post bail, and is willing to go to jail to dramatize his situation. But now he has posted bail, with a high-powered lawyer like Estelito Mendoza to boot)," Gonzalez said. Gonzalez also insisted the "revival" of the libel charges against Cruz was meant to show the law "applies to all or to no one at all." "Whether you are priest or a congressman or a senator, pwede ka ma-file-an ng kaso (you can be charged in court)," Gonzalez said. The case stemmed from an article written by Cruz which saw print in several broadsheets on June 28, 2004. In the article, Cruz allegedly said the complainants acted as "pitiful GROs" (guest relations officers) during the birthday party of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in 2004. Last month, the DOJ filed libel charges against Cruz for "falsely and maliciously imputed to them (Pagcor employees) acts that have caused dishonor to, and besmirched their reputation as women when he described them in the said article." Archbishop Cruz earlier said he did not mean to offend the girls but was even trying to defend them. The archbishop said he was not against the women but with the way they were treated by Pagcor, and blamed Malacaang for the filing of the case against him. Meanwhile, the filing of the libel case against Cruz had triggered fresh calls to decriminalize libel. The College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) said the case lodged by the Justice Department against Cruz was just part of the "libel spree" of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. This, as the group said it will push for the decriminalization of libel so that it cannot be used by the authorities as a tool against its critics. "The case is just another harassment against those people who expose the rottenness of this government," CEGP spokesman Vijae Alquizola said in an article posted late Wednesday night on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website. Alquizola noted the first gentleman had lodged a string of libel cases against at least 26 journalists from different media outfits for writing stories unfavorable to him. "This case is another clear attack on freedom of expression. Like the other 45 libel cases, FG Mike Arroyo is once again involved. Where in the world can you find no less than the DOJ assaulting the rights of an elderly and respectable bishop just because he managed to annoy some very influential people? Only in the Philippines," Alquizola said. For its part, the militant youth alliance Youth for Accountability and Truth Now! (YOUTH ACT NOW!) hit the "resurrection" of the libel case against Cruz, saying it is yet another dirty tactic of the Arroyo government to silence its critics. "We are yet again disgusted at how this administration sinks to the lowest of the low just to silence its critics. Bishop Cruz is a role model of youth and students and we admire him for standing up to his convictions despite political harassment," the group's spokesman Alvin Peters said.
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