One-sided news report

THIS IS in relation to the news story, “‘Malicious’ e-mail not from Canadian mining firm—NBI.” (Inquirer.net, 7/30/12) I must hasten to say that the story is not balanced since it did not get the side of the petitioners who recently filed the writ of amparo before the Court of Appeals in Cagayan de Oro City, now docketed as CA No. 0004-WR/A-MIN. Firstly, the e-mails (containing information on the alleged plot to petitioners’ lives) are only one of the basis for the filing of the writ of amparo; the petitioners also allege being subjected to actual and current threats and to continuing surveillance.

The so-called NBI report was not submitted in court during the last hearing on July 19 and 20, 2012, even as TVI Resources Development Inc., (TVIRD) was given time to present evidence. TVIRD did not give a copy of the alleged NBI report to the petitioners during the last hearing on the writ of amparo. It would have been a good journalistic practice on the part of the reporter if she had taken time to get the side of the petitioners regarding the so-called NBI report.

In other words, the so-called NBI report was released to media for some reasons. Clearly, the so-called NBI report is not really intended for the court to evaluate. On the other hand, the purported e-mails dismissed as “malicious” in the so-called NBI report are now a public record since they have been submitted in evidence by the petitioners in the writ of amparo case. And the court has already made its initial ruling on it after it issued a Temporary Protection Order in favor of petitioners last July 24, 2012. These are important facts that the reporter did not care to verify. I believe the reporter can still correct these inadequacies in her report consistent with “balanced news,” which the Inquirer takes as its motto.

—GLOCELITO C. JAYMA,

co-counsel for petitioners in

CA No. 0004-WR/A-MIN,

[email protected]