FCT to pursue defamation claims vs. Datol, et al, after dismissal by court`

FCT to pursue defamation claims vs. Datol, et al, after dismissal by court`

TORONTO — Filipino Centre Toronto will pursue its defamation claims against Ramon Datol, Daisy Gutierrez, Chito Collantes and Dr. Francisco Portugal after the Ontario Court of Justice ordered the dismissal of the action due to delay.

According to a press release FCT issued on Aug. 31, 2009, “the FCT must now bring a motion to the court to set the administrative order aside and set a new timetable” for its two claims of defamation.

A court order dated July 30, 2009 indicated that the plaintiffs (Rosalinda Javier, Dr. Guillermo de Villa, Dr. Victoria Santiago and Felino Javier) have “not brought this action to conclusion or set it down for trial within the time prescribed by Rule 48.14 or such other time as was prescribed by order and has not cured the default.”

According to the defense counsel of Datol and his co-defendants, lawyer H. Keith Juriansz, “any attempt to set aside the Order dismissing the action will be vigorously opposed” as he was quoted by a story that will appear in the latest issue of the Philippine Courier, published and edited by Datol.

FCT explained in its statement that its past and current board of directors are pursuing two “companion defamation claims” — one in relation to a radio broadcast and another related to a rally held in Nov. 2005 and an article published in a community newspaper.The two were “scheduled to have been set down for trial on or before July 28, 2009”

FCT admitted in its statement that it was “unable to conduct or complete the steps in the litigation which are necessary prior to setting the actions down for trial” which then was the reason for the court dismissal of the “Radio Action”.

FCT pointed out that the defendants refused to agree to amend the timetable for the “Radio Action” which is supposed to go hand in hand with the “Rally Action”.

On the other hand, Dr. Portugal was quoted in the Courier story: “Filing a lawsuit and not continuing with it is also bewildering.”

Collantes and Dr. Portugal mentioned the amount of $400,000 that the FCT has reportedly spent for litigation against the defendants.

“To spend close to 400 thousand in legal expenses is, for a community organization, unfathomable. A community organization to be relevant should welcome criticism and not resort to frivolous lawsuits to muzzle constructive criticism,” Portugal said in the Courier story.

FCT said, however, that the defamation claims are being funded by individual plaintiffs and not out of FCT coffers. The statement said that “litigation launched in 2005 against the FCT and the previous Board of Directors concerning the governance of FCT resulted in the accumulation of considerable legal costs, some of which were paid for the benefitt of the defendants.”

FCT, however, said it “would welcome an opportunity to resolve these disputes amicably”. Collantes, likewise said “It’s not too late to patch things up” and that “a dialogue is necessary”.