Tuesday, October 07, 2008 Malilong: Demand letter By Frank Malilong The Other Side
THE way things are going, it won’t be long before our editors receive the following demand letter: The Editor Sun.Star Daily Cebu City
Dear Sir:
I am writing in behalf of the 15 farmers who were named in last Monday’s issue of your newspaper as having been accused of stealing the carabao of their neighbor sometime last month.
If you will please recall, at five o’clock in the afternoon of the same day, my clients submitted to you their individual affidavits which they requested you to publish in reply to the trumped-up charges against them, which charges, I must add, caused my clients damages that are beyond pecuniary estimation.
I find it disturbing that to date their reply/affidavits have not been published. Please note that under the law, the reply should be published not later than the day after it was submitted to the newspaper for publication.
I am trying to be patient and have accordingly advised my clients. I want to remind you though that my patience is not bottomless.
What bothers me is the information I got from your secretary who said that you found the 15 affidavits “excessive.” Worse, you also reportedly said that the defense of my clients is ridiculous.
Let me take this opportunity to refresh your understanding of the law. First, it simply says that the reply should not be lengthier than the article replied to. It does not say that in case there are two or more people replying to the same article, they should be combined for purposes of determining their length. What the law does not exclude, it includes.
Let me also point out to you that you have no right to judge whether or not a claim or defense is ridiculous. The letter and the spirit of the law are clear and unambiguous as to its intent which is to take away from you what you have proudly and self-servingly claim as your editorial prerogative.
If you don’t believe that my clients did not intend to steal the carabao, fine with us. But please publish our version of the truth which is that when my clients were caught, they were merely pulling the rope; it just happened that the carabao followed the rope to which it was tied.
Since the news item about my client’s arrest was printed on the front page of your newspaper, I demand that the reply should also be published on the same page and not later than the day after your receipt of this letter.
I trust that you will favorably act on this demand otherwise I will be constrained much to my regret to take the appropriate criminal action against you to protect and enforce the rights of my client.
