Volume 4, Issue No. 43
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
Our latest as of Thursday, January 26, 2023
~ The request for comment - a must for journalists wishing to provide balance to their story - was turning into a verbal tussle. The airing of resentment was inevitable in the process and it came as no surprise at all from someone who keeps portraying herself as a victim, thus escaping responsibility even for just a moment of pique.
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TERESITA 'TESS' CUSIPAG SAYS:
Libel Suit to Be Fought Vigorously
I'm Hiring 'Not Just Lawyers' But 'Good Ones'
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
"Ignorance of the law excuses no man - from practicing it". - Adison Mizner
TORONTO - A local newspaper official has indicated that she will vigorously fight a lawsuit being readied against her and the publication she publishes and edits.
Responding belatedly to questions about the notice of libel action served on her last week on behalf of businesswoman Liwayway Miranda aka Lily Hammer, Teresita "Tess" Cusipag of Balita tabloid said she would be hiring "not just lawyers" but "good ones instead".
That statement is an allusion to her loss in two defamation lawsuits years ago where she had to shell out nearly $1-million in litigation costs.
Though this reporter was also a defendant in those suits, it was Ms. Cusipag, Balita newspaper, and Balita Media Inc. that were found guilty of criminal contempt of court. Judge Frederick L. Myers sentenced her to 21 days' incarceration of which she served 13 days in a women's facility.
"I learned my lessons. being thrifty and underestimating," she says, the resentment at being hailed to court again quite evident in her emailed response. (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NGQX-SucJ4).
Ms. Cusipag had complained about one of her lawyers in the old suit who had treated her like an ATM, asking for money every now and then without as much as delivering on his legal responsibility to her. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ykwazA-WE).
"I was told to use my money to spend and hire good ones instead," she states in a brief reply to an earlier question. Part of the twin losses in 2016 and 2018 had been attributed to a lackluster defense of the cases.
In the present instance, Ms. Cusipag is being held legally accountable for publishing an article that cast aspersion on the reputation, character, and integrity of the business person she had named in the article as Liwayway Miranda Hammer.
She's also known as Lily Hammer, the managing partner in a labor management company called A&L Hammer Workforce Management, which has now been officially inoperational. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WONotKxTTWw).
Despite being cleared by the Superior Court of Ontario of charges of illegal recruitment and misrepresentation in 2019 and reported by both mainstream and community media, Ms. Cusipag still published in December 2022 an article headlined "BEWARE... Toronto scammers abound around us".
Ms. Cusipag claimed in that article that Ms. Hammer is a "notorious alleged scammer who up to this time is still hunted by victims to serve court documents". (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/12/scavenging-dumpsters-is-not-way-to-look.html).
Note that three years had elapsed between the time Ms. Hammer was cleared by the court (that's 2019) and the publication of Ms. Cusipag's article last month. (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QprwiFQiLjs).
For a publisher and editor so-called, it is unpardonable to commit such an egregious mistake, if mistake it is. Was it a malicious and deliberate act of mischief out of hate, anger, and jealousy?
Ms. Cusipag appears to be bothered by the stream of stories that put her on the spot, insinuating that she was being harassed.
"you (sic) keep on bothering me as we work in silence and these are all being saved by my new lawyers," she complains.
She also asked this reporter to pay up, saying "My lawyer . . . wanted me to remind you that you owe balita (sic) $1M for your share of the lawsuits and the conviction".
"$1M is a lot of money and should be paid. Show integrity and take care of your legal responsibilities," she adds.
To which I replied: "Wish me luck. Almost every week, or whenever my pocket permits, I buy lotto max tickets in the hope I could match your vaunted millions.
"Don't write shitty articles so nobody, no elite scammers, none, would react - that's a bit of advice worth $1 million". (Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved).
Parang boxing pala ito, may return bout.
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