Negrense Marchel Espina, a National Union of Journalists of the Philippines director, was arraigned Thursday, August 27, before the Batangas City Regional Trial Court in connection with the “unjust vexation” charge filed against her.
Shortly before the scheduled arraignment, Espina’s camp filed a motion to quash the case. The court denied the motion, and the arraignment proceeded. The case will now move to pre-trial, with the first hearing set for September 24., NUJP reported.
The charge was filed by a local leader of a religious group over an opinion piece published by SunStar Cebu in December 2024, when Espina was the paper’s editor-in-chief.
The NUJP has condemned the filing “as an attempt to intimidate Espina and the media community”.
“Criminal charges filed against journalists over their reporting and commentary on matters of public interest must be exposed for what they are: a weapon that can be wielded to silence critical voices,” the NUJP said.
Espina is represented by lawyer . Vincent Bohol of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG).
“We are grateful for his legal assistance and support. We also thank the Philippine Press Institute for extending their support to Marchel,” the NUJP said.
“We stand with Marchel. Journalists must be free to scrutinize those who wield political and public influence without fear of harassment or reprisal,” it added.*
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