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Ciriaco 'Boy' Guingguing vs. Court of Appeals

CIRIACO "BOY' GUINGGUING, Petitioner, versus THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS and THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondents.

G.R. No. 128959 | 2005-09-30

SECOND DIVISION
D E C I S I O N 
 
Tinga, J.: 
 
The liberty of the press is indeed essential. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech. 
 
- Benjamin Franklin[1] 
 
The right of free expression stands as a hallmark of the modern democratic and humane state.[2] Not only does it assure a person's right to say freely what is thought freely, it likewise evinces the polity's freedom from psychological insecurity. This fundamental liberty is translated into the constitutional guarantee that no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of...