Case Digest (G.R. No. 15905)
Facts:
This is Nicanor T. Jimenez, et al. v. Bartolome Cabangbang, G.R. No. L-15905, promulgated August 03, 1966, before the Supreme Court En Banc, Concepcion, J., writing for the Court. The plaintiffs-appellants were Nicanor T. Jimenez, Carlos J. Albert and Jose L. Lukban; the defendant-appellee was Bartolome Cabangbang, then a Member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of its Committee on National Defense.Plaintiffs instituted an ordinary civil action in the Court of First Instance of Rizal for recovery of damages for libel, alleging that Cabangbang wrote and caused publication of an open letter dated November 14, 1958, addressed to the President and printed in several newspapers. The letter described three alleged "operational plans" by certain AFP officers and civilian strategists to engineer political advantage, named several military officers (including the three plaintiffs) as being under the control of unnamed "planners," and recommended several political and administrative reforms (including resignations and reassignments).
Upon being served, defendant moved to dismiss on the grounds that the letter was not libelous and that it was a privileged communication under Article VI, Section 15 of the Constitution (the speech-or-debate clause for legislators). The trial judge granted the motion and dismissed the complaint on the privilege g...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the published open letter a privileged communication under Article VI, Section 15 of the Constitution (the speech-or-debate privilege)?
- If not privileged, was the publication libelous as to the plaintiffs, entitling th...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)