dotPH vs Versomina: Where We Stand

Everyone is a champion of the sacred right to free speech - but how many of these well-meaning souls will still do it when faced with a harrowing, expensive lawsuit? Not to mention the fact that they will get a grand total of nothing for the effort?

Very few, I imagine. dotPH is currently currently fighting for the right to free speech - it is still fighting for somebody else’s right to free speech against a company that will sue a pair of shoes if it knew that it could get something out of the case.

Forgot it? Let me jog your memory. An anonymous person set up a blog called Alimuom using dotPH’s blogging platform, i.PH blogs. The blogger aired his grievances against a company, Versomina, claiming that it abused its employees and sued them if they tried to leave. Joel Aquino (lawsuit-happy owner of Versomina, also charged with a criminal case by the NBI) got wind of this and asked dotPH to take down the blog. Valuing the inherent right to free speech, Joel Disini (dotPH CEO) refused.
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An Appeal to Versomina/Netpros Ex-Employees

We’ve had an overwhelming response to the last post that we made. We appreciate you coming forward and sharing information.  Everyone has urged us to keep the blog alimuom.i.ph up.

But that may be something beyond our control. There is a very real chance that the judge issues a TRO that will force us to take alimuom.i.ph down until the case has been resolved.  If that happens, the fight is pretty much over. The blog gets taken down, while the case can drag on for years and bleed us dry with legal expenses.

Perhaps the only thing that can help is if the claims that have been made could be substantiated, so we can make the case that the blog is a valid form of expression and not just a vehicle for personal attacks.

So we need more than accusations. We need information we can verify. Otherwise, the judge can dismiss everything as hearsay. We need to show something that can stand up to scrutiny and shows that your accusations are true.

For example, “Netpros / Versomina ex-Employee” said that Joel Aquino has several cases filed against him in the Department of Labor and Employment. And he has mentioned that Joel Aquino has “has more than 50 cases (and still counting) … opened in Pasig RTC against ex-employees.” It would help if he provided the case names and which RTC salas they are in so we could check them out (there are over 30 RTC salas in Pasig and no consolidated database).

For those who’ve related accounts of ex-employees’ tax, SSS, Pag-Ibig and salaries not being paid — dates, amounts, names and  similar info is what we need. Same with accusations that Versomina sends out spies to check in on ex-employees, invading their privacy and personal lives.

Time is running out. The TRO could be issued at any time and the blog could go down.

One person has already come forward and shared vital information. If you’d like to do your part, just leave a comment here indicating your willingness to do so. You don’t need to put in your contact details in the comment, just leave your real email address in the email field and we will contact you immediately. It’s all confidential unless you choose otherwise.

We hope to hear from you soon. 

Joel Disini, DotPH CEO, speaks about the Versomina libel case

UPDATE: Please check this post out as well.

Things are heating up with the libel case.  dotPH continues its fight for free speech as the court date steadily approaches. We at dotPH believe blogging provides a valuable and valid means of expression for those who have no other way of manifesting grievances.

We asked for your take on the issue. For those who came forward and gave their opinions, thank you. Now, Joel Disini, the guy behind i.ph, explains the company’s side, and what we can do to prevent an environment where expressing an opinion or dissent can be suppressed by means of threats, legal or not.

Here is what Mr. Disini has to say:

As some of you may know, a lawsuit has been filed by Versomina and Mr. Joel Aquino against dotPH due to posts made by a blogger - alimuom.i.ph on the i.ph Wordpress-powered blogging platform.  dotPH only hosts and provides the blogging software, yet somehow, Mr. Aquino prefers to sue us rather than sue the blogger.  This action has cost us a lot of time and money, and we’ve agonized over several weeks whether to do, as Mr Aquino wants - to shut down the blog - or to carry this fight all the way.
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Standing up for Free Speech

Last week i.PH received two demand letters asking us to take down one of our blogs because it allegedly had libelous content.  The companies claiming libel, Stratvisions Inc. and Versomina Inc., threatened legal action against us if we failed to take the site down.

The two demand letters can be seen here:

  
Click on thumbnails to enlarge

Whether they tried to contact the blogger directly to request that the posts be deleted is unclear. But we refuse to take down the blog for a very simple reason — we respect the principle of free speech.

We believe that blogs serve an important purpose in allowing people a venue for expressing their thoughts, ideas and opinions. In the past you had to own a newspaper, radio or TV station to get yourself heard.  This has changed with the advent of the free marketplace of ideas that we know as the Internet We find the threat of legal action against us (and it’s accompanying legal costs) disturbing, to say the least.  But whether or not we agree with what our bloggers have to say, one thing is clear — we respect their right to say it.In fact, i.ph domains are anonymous precisely to promote free speech and encourage people to speak out.  Got a beef against your local politician?  Blog about it.  Know where all the MMDA speed traps are along EDSA? Warn other motorists by posting their locations.  A restaurant served up a cockroach along with your fries?  Upload a photo on to your blog.

Anonymity, and the opportunity to reach a wide audience, gives people a chance to air their truths without fear of harassment and let the public decide. Of course, we are well aware that we have certain responsibilities as a service provider. In this case, if the blog entries are proven to be libelous and there is a court ruling to that effect, we’ll take them down immediately.But until that happens, probably the best thing for all parties involved to do is to air their sides and let their ideas speak for themselves.  Because when all is said and done, the truth shall set you free.