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Newspaper trio in Philippines face sedition charges

The publisher and two columnists of a Manila newspaper have been charged with inciting sedition against the administration of President Gloria Arroyo, one of the defendants said yesterday.

Ninez Cacho-Olivares, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Daily Tribune, said that she and her colleagues expect to be arrested but that she would fight the charge.

"This is so stupid it is beyond belief," she said. "Does this mean I can't write anymore? What happened to freedom of speech in this country?"

The justice department on Wednesday filed criminal charges against Olivares and columnists Ike Seneres and Herman Tiu Laurel over articles and editorials allegedly intended to incite the public and military to rebel.

Last February the government uncovered a plot by the military and some left-wing groups to overthrow the administration. Arroyo declared a state of emergency and several senior officers are now on trial in military courts.

The offices of the Tribune were raided and a number of left-wing lawmakers and businessmen were implicated in the plot.

Senior state prosecutor Phillip Kimpo said on Wednesday that there was "probable cause" to believe that Olivares and the two columnists had incited sedition, which is a criminal offence in the Philippines.

He said reading of the articles "reveals some grossly or obscenely abusive libels against the government and its officials."

He cited an article written by Olivares on Dec. 11, 2005, in which she stated that the "military willfully engages in illegal activities and follows illegal orders from the commander-in-chief."

He said Olivares asserted that Arroyo was a "bogus" president.

Although they have been charged, Olivares and her columnists have not been arrested.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will establish special tribunals to try people suspected of carrying out extrajudicial killings, the chief justice said yesterday, after meeting a UN investigator to discuss the rising number of slain activists and journalists.

The special courts will be established within a week to speed up the trials, Chief Justice Reynato Puno said in a statement.

The local human-rights group Karapatan has listed 832 alleged summary killings, including the deaths of 356 left-wing activists, since 2001, and blamed security forces for their deaths.
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