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Thursday, March 10, 2005
Trader demands P10M in damages from Smart
By Jay Dooma Balnig
ILOILO CITY -- An entrepreneur from Pavia, Iloilo is demanding P10 million in damages from Smart Communications for using his success story in its print and radio advertisements without his permission.
Napoleon Joaquin, proprietor of a "Talk 'n Text Partner" business, through his lawyer Joshua Alim, gave the telecommunications giant five days to answer his demand as stated in his letter to Smart, Talk 'n Text's parent company, dated March 8.
According to Joaquin, he never authorized Smart to publish his success story.
"If they will not respond in five days, we will take the necessary legal steps," said Alim, who raised the issues of deceit and privacy.
Joaquin told Sun.Star Iloilo Wednesday that in September last year, Smart local sales office manager Leah Dable and her co-employee Agnes Aperocho asked him to submit his autobiography and photos as his story might be featured in Talk 'n Text advertisements.
He immediately complied with the requirements, and included a photo of him holding peso bills, as suggested by Dable and Aperocho.
After submitting the requirements, Joaquin said the two told him to stay put because they will forward the documents to their central office in Manila.
He added that Dable and Aperocho promised him a trip to Manila and abroad on the first quarter of 2005 if ever the company will choose his autobiography for its advertisement.
After that, he never heard from the two again until his relatives informed him they saw his story featured in a Talk 'n Text advertisement on two national tabloids.
The first was in Pilipino Star Ngayon's Dec. 1, 2004 issue and the second, in Bandera's Dec. 8, 2004 issue.
In the comics-type print advertisement, Joaquin's success story was featured, with him saying he is now earning P6,000 a day for his e-load and call and text business. His photo was placed beside that of comedian Dolphy, Talk 'n Text's celebrity endorser.
But Joaquin said he couldn't have earned that much in a day.
Also, his story was featured in a similar radio advertisement but the voice of person telling his success story was not his.
Thinking he got paid for the endorsement, Joaquin said his relatives and friends have been coming to him to ask for money.
"(Its) officers and the corporation may be held criminally liable, for obviously, there is an element of deceit in the said alleged endorsement on the part of our client," Alim added.
| Post your experiences to the Sun.Star Graduation section. Click here. | 2005-02-24 04:52:02
mcalvo - My graduation was unforgettable to me and to my classmates. I was so drunk the night before graduation. During the ceremony i dozed to the point of snooring even when i was already standing i was half sleeping. Our dean has to call my name twice and the person behind me has to push me just to wake me up... graduations are memorable...enjoy and congratulations to all graduates!
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(March 10, 2005 issue)
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