July 16 - 31, 2016
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
A5
Superior Court found Cusipag & Balita liable for defamation
Toronto – On July
13, the Honourable Sidney
Lederman, Judge of the Superior Court of Justice, ruled
in favour of the Honourable
Tobias C. Enverga Jr., Ontario Senator, in his defamation
lawsuit against Balita Media
Inc. and publisher Tess Cusipag, in a damning verdict over
false and defamatory remarks
published about the Senator
which alleged fraud related
to fundraising efforts on behalf of the Kalayaan Cultural
Community Centre (KCCC) in
2000.
The judge awarded
Senator Enverga general and
aggravated damages, in addition to punitive damages
and a permanent injunction
against the publisher and her
company to publish/broadcast, or assist or encourage
others to publish/broadcast,
any statements about the issues related to the Senator’s
role in KCCC fundraising, the
charitable status of the Philippine Canadian Charitable
Foundation (PCCF) and Senator Enverga being a biological and pathological liar.
In the judgement, Justice Lederman wrote in part:
“In the end, the defendants
have no reliable evidence to
prove the truth of the $6,000
fraud allegation or the PCCF
donation/tax credit allegation.
In fact, Cusipag admitted on
discovery that it is not true
that Senator Enverga committed a fraud in relation to
fund raising activities and
that the PCCF allegations are
false.”
“… an award of punitive damages is necessary in
this case. The defendants,
and in particular Cusipag, has
done virtually everything she
could to destroy and discredit
Senator Enverga in an unrelenting manner … They engaged in absolutely no investigation whatsoever as to the
truth of what they were publishing. They were recklessly
indifferent to the truth of the
Article … At no time has there
been any retraction or apology given. Cusipag vows to
continue to make defamatory
statements against the plaintiff [Senator Enverga] and has
shown no interest in stopping
her efforts or refraining from
misconduct. In 2010, after
Senator Enverga was elected
as a Catholic school board
trustee, he arrived late to a
press event held by Cusipag
[Senator Enverga went to a
wake for a good friend]. She
published a warning to Senator Enverga. ‘First off is to respect the press who can wield
its power to make or break
you.’ In the article and on her
Facebook page, she is fulfilling the threat that she made
against the plaintiff in 2010
that she would destroy him,”
the judge continued.
The judgement is clear
on the motivation of the
Balita publisher, stating that:
“Cusipag was motivated by
malice.
She
obviously holds
a deep seated
resentment towards Senator
Enverga. She
used his comments to the
Philippine press
as a springboard to vent
her unfounded
allegations in
the published
Article and her
Facebook
to
intentionally
besmirch Senator Enverga’s
reputation
in
the Filipino-Ca-
nadian community.” After receiving the decision, Senator
Enverga’s counsel, Howard
W. Winkler, told the Senator:
“The decision is a complete
vindication of your reputation.
The decision is a complete indictment of Ms. Cusipag.”
“I am relieved by the
court’s decision on this matter,” said Senator Enverga in
a statement. “This is a victory
for the community,” Senator
Enverga ended.
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