Catch me if you can on Friday night

By Alex P. Vidal

“If you call your opponent a politician, it’s grounds for libel.” – Mark Russell

WHEN our media colleague Manuel “Boy” Mejorada was arrested by police on June 7, 2019 for cyberlibel, it was a Friday night.

Mejorada would have been immediately hauled to jail if he wasn’t brought to the St. Paul’s Hospital in Iloilo City when his blood pressure shot up.

Unlike former broadcaster and alleged fake news peddler Jay Sonza, who had to spend three nights inside the jail after being arrested on April 30, 2026, a Friday night, by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Quezon City regarding a cyberlibel case for allegedly spreading false information and fake medical records regarding President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s health.

We find the timing of the arrest of both Mejorada and Sonza, as well as other fellow journalists, pernicious and malicious. Arresting officers are aware we can’t post bail if we are cornered on a Friday night.

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I had my own share of nightmare engaging arresting police officers in a cat and mouse chase for trying to get me on a Friday night when the court ordered my arrest for libel as editor in the past.

Luckily, I wasn’t home when the arresting officers came to “fetch” me.

Since libel is a criminal case in the Philippines, it’s a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the cops to put a cuff on the accused while he is being brought behind bars.

Thank God I missed the metal bracelets in all the warrants of arrest issued for the 38 counts of libel filed by the plaintiff, “The People of the Philippines,” against me, our late former Sun.Star Iloilo Daily publisher, Marcos “Mark” Villalon, and columnist Wenceslao “Mat” Mateo way back in 1999, or 27 years ago.

My sore eyes infection was starting to develop when I learned that the first warrant of arrest had been issued by the RTC Branch 25 and cops were coming to get me on a Friday.

Thus, I decided to quietly spend a night at Bahay Kubo, a rented hut in Calumpang, Molo, Iloilo City.

A police mugshot of yours truly would have yielded two awful but “beautiful red eyes.”

Thank God we beat to the draw all the other upcoming warrants of arrest by immediately posting bail after being tipped off by the Good Samaritans inside the Hall of Justice.

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What happened to Mejorada and Sonza should serve as a warning to all those charged with a criminal case: avoid being arrested on a Friday.

If an accused in a criminal case is arrested end of the regular week after office hours, he has no more chance to post bail in court for his temporary freedom.

He will have to spend at least three nights and two days in jail while waiting for Monday during office hours.

In 1993, veteran Iloilo columnists Herbert Vego and the late Teddy Sumaray chose to spend overnight “as a matter of principle” inside the Iloilo City Police Office detention cell rather than posting a bail of P10,000 each for the libel case filed by the late lawyer-publisher Fraulin Penasales.

Friends and the late Panay News publisher Danny Fajardo helped “avert” another harrowing night in the calaboose for the two bespectacled senior editors.

In libel cases, the showdown vis-a-vis the prosecution panel during the actual trial of the case doesn’t scare us practicing journalists; it even excites us, modesty aside, like we are nominees in the Oscar Awards.

We believe that libel–the crime of destroying a person’s reputation by publicity–is hard to prove under the Philippine laws because it requires the presence of all four elements: malice, publication, defamation, and identification.

What’s unsettling if we get caught by arresting police on a Friday is the prospect of being harassed and bullied, and having to sleep side by side the hardened criminals and notorious fiends inside a crowded detention cell.

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THESE ARE THE 10 NEW SUPERFOODS. The superstars — blueberries, almonds, tomatoes, flaxseeds, broccoli, red wine, salmon, olive oil, edamame, brown rice. The understudy — strawberries, peanuts, white button mushrooms, beer, sunflower seeds, cauliflower, trout, safflower oil, black beans, barley. (Source: Sally Kuzemchak, R.D., Fitness: Mind, Body + Spirit)

OUTSMARTING A SNACK ATTACK. Eating two small snacks a day can help us lose weight. Trouble is, research shows that we’re munching more than ever before–choosing foods that are high in calories and fat–and packing on the pounds as a result. “Often we’re not even hungry, but because we’re surrounded by food, we’re tempted to eat anyway,” says Kerry Neville, Ph.D. of American Dietetic Assn.

‘YOU’RE A PIG.’ Don’t feel bad if an adversary or critic will call you a pig. Ronald Reagan, like George Bush and Bill Clinton, was also called a pig but he retorted, “I am very proud to be called a pig. It stands for Pride, Integrity and Guts.”

STAND UP BEFORE TOUCHING THE TOILET HANDLE. One in three people flush while sitting down. If we are one of them, let us consider this: When we flush, droplets of water spray in the air. That means we can be exposed to bacteria, which increases our risk of getting a urinary tract infection (UTI). (Source: Soap and Water & Common Sense.)

POWERFUL GRASS. God wants us to live like the grass. In spite of being stepped on, crushed, burned, or cut, it always persists and grow back…even greener and stronger. A blessed week to everyone.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)