Cop files libel raps vs TV broadcaster DJ Yap Inquirer
November 14, 2006
THE investigator now becomes the subject of an investigation.
Broadcaster Mike Enriquez, host of GMA 7’s public affairs show, “Imbestigador,” is facing a P6-million libel suit filed by a Makati City policeman who was featured on the program while moonlighting as a tricycle driver.
SPO2 Elias Nero of the Makati City anticarnapping unit accused Enriquez and camera man Mike Pagdanganan of destroying his reputation and causing him extreme embarrassment during an episode of the show which appeared on Aug. 19.
Nero is seeking P6 million in moral damages—on top of P250,000 in actual damages—as compensation for the suffering the show allegedly caused him and his family. In the complaint he filed with the Quezon City prosecutor’s office on Friday, Nero also demanded a public apology from the two media men to clear his name.
Enriquez could not be reached for comment. GMA 7’s legal department referred the Inquirer to Juni Castillo, the show’s executive producer, but he said he would only come out with a statement once he had obtained a copy of the complaint.
In the charge sheet, Nero said the show maliciously portrayed him as an abusive cop who bullied other tricycle drivers and flaunted his authority by cutting in the drivers’ queue at the waiting area for passengers in Sta. Ana, Manila. He said footage from a hidden camera showed him purportedly exchanging heated words with one of the complainants, Virgilio Caliwliw.
But when it was shown on “Imbestigador,” the sound of Caliwliw’s raised voice was allegedly muted, and only his angry words were aired. Other tricycle drivers who saw what happened were not given a chance to air their side, he said. He added that the complainants were motivated by ill will, since he had been trying to stop them from their bullying acts in the area. As a result of the broadcast, Nero said he was the subject of taunts from people who called him “buwayang pulis” (crooked policeman).
Editor’s note: GMA 7 is a channel of GMA Network, a parent company of INQ7.net.
