CONSTITUTIONAL LAW II

BORJAL v. CA
G.R. No. 126466; January 1999
FACTS: Borjal, the President of PhilSTAR Daily, Inc., and Soliven, the publisher and
chairman of the Editorial Board of Philippine Star, were sued by Francisco Wenceslao
for allegedly alluding to him in the Jaywalker column, wherein he was portrayed as
an extortionist by using the conference for the revamp of transportation laws as a
means of getting money from unwitting businessmen. Wenceslao filed a complaint
with the National Press Club for unethical conduct, and with the courts for libel. The
criminal case for libel was dismissed by the Assistant Prosecutor, which was
sustained by the DOJ and by the Office of the President.
Undeterred, Wenceslao filed a civil case against Borjal and Soliven based on the libel
subject of the criminal complaints. The trial court ruled in Wenceslaos favor. The CA
affirmed.
ISSUES:
1. Whether the Jaywalker articles constituted privileged communications as to
exempt the author from liability.
2. Whether Wenceslao is a public figure.
3. Whether Borjal acted with malice in the publication of the articles.
RULING:
First Issue: YES. Privileged communications must be protective of public opinion. Fair
commentaries on matters of public interest are privileged and constitute a valid
defense in an action for libel or slander. There is no denying that the questioned
articles dealt with matters of public interest, as the conference that Wenceslao was

JC JAF FULGAR
allegedly soliciting funds for had the object to reinvent and reshape the transportation
laws of the country. As such, it cannot but invite close scrutiny by the media obliged to
inform the public of the legitimacy of the purpose of the activity and of the
qualifications and integrity of the personalities behind it.
Second Issue: YES. A public figure is a person who, by his accomplishments, fame,
mode of living, or by adopting a profession or calling which gives the public a
legitimate interest in his doings, his affairs and his character, has become a public
personage. It includes anyone who has arrived at a position where the public
attention is focused upon him as a person. As Executive Director and Spokesman of
the said conference, Wenceslao consequently assumed the status of a public figure.
Third Issue: NO. Borjal was moved by a sense of civic duty and prodded by his
responsibility as a newspaperman to expose and denounce what he perceived to be
a public deception. Surely, we cannot begrudge him for that. To be considered
malicious, the libelous statements must be shown to have been written or published
with the knowledge that they are false or in reckless disregard of whether they are
false or not. The articles in the instant case can hardly be said to have been written
with knowledge that these are false or in reckless disregard of what is false or not.
They were based on reasonable grounds formed after the columnist conducted
several personal interviews and after considering the varied documentary evidence
provided him by his sources.