Mastermind in Campaign Against Balita Newspaper Named

Volume 1, Issue No. 1

OPINION/COMMENTARY

IT'S OSWALD MAGNO AND HIS GROUP

Mastermind in Campaign Against Balita Newspaper Named

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves." - Matthew 7:15

TORONTO - A local blogger blamed his friend and colleague, whom he also identified, for the spate of unattributed articles attacking Balita, the Filipino community's largest newspaper, and its editors.

"Stop hiding now," demands Joe Rivera, a former lawyer who now devotes his time to painting after he went, according to the left-leaning Philippine Reporter, on an "early retirement" from his law practice for unexplained reasons.

He was asking Oswald Magno, an occasional blogger, and his group to come clean, saying he does not understand why they "won't claim ownership of Balita Boycott campaign". (For brevity, Balita Boycott is referred here as BaBoy, due also to its clandestine operations. Baboy in the vernacular means pig).

BaBoy's campaign is geared to destroy Balita financially by urging advertisers and supporters to stop patronizing the paper ostensibly for its investigative pieces involving known figures in the community, including those suspected of involvement in criminal activities.

But since it surfaced in a blog, BaBoy had always been incognito. Its constantly changing language and tone triggered suspicion that BaBoy is a composite of at least five people.

Its first appearance in April 2013 contained, among others, an article on community journalism by Joe Rivera, thus heightening the impression that he was the bully behind BaBoy. He now claims the inclusion of the article in BaBoy's website was, in his words, "without my knowledge and permission".

"Publishing my blog article x x x without my permission has made me a suspect to (sic) the eyes of Romy Marquez that I was responsible for what you have been posting and writing all along," Rivera writes, chastising Magno whom he called a "fraternity brod".

Rivera's surprise revelation that it was Magno who was at the forefront of BaBoy's campaign removes any doubt that it was him orchestrating all the attacks against Balita from the time he was chided for comments generally thought of as his means of ingratiating himself with Tobias Enverga who was then recently appointed to the Senate.

Magno somehow clarified the situation, almost wanting to be credited for the campaign, in an email to Rivera. "This sore loser (referring to this writer, though not naming him) suspects you as Balita Boycott and is on the warpath. He obviously does not know you too well," Magno wrote. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D91DxGQt9OU).

But Rivera seemed inconsolable. He wants Magno and his group to own up and come out in the open. "Hiding under the cloak of anonymity takes away your group's credibility," Rivera says on Sunday in an email to Magno. Balita editor Tess Cusipag was copied with his email.

A concerned community leader sought our for comment said: "Rivera is making it known to Tess (Cusipag) that he's not the culprit. Therefore he is nailing Oswald (Magno) for the crime and clearing his name".  

Rivera earlier explained that he was "surprised" why he was suspected of being part of the group behind BaBoy, "whose website I just saw today for the very first time". He said he was "too old to be involved in Balita's quarrel with Os (Oswald Magno), or even with Jun (Tobias) Enverga". (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNhl-SRW--0).

Perhaps unknown to Rivera, BaBoy - until this Sunday, March 12, was faceless and nameless - engaged Ms. Cusipag and this reporter in heated email exchanges early in the week. 

BaBoy kept harassing Ms. Cusipag, telling her repeatedly that she would go to jail for an alleged breach of a judge's order. The constant barrage by email has deeply upset Ms. Cusipag, causing distress and emotional harm, she said later.

In attempts to flush BaBoy out, this reporter purposely cursed and swore at him over and over, hoping he would come out and defend himself against the profanities. Indeed his responses gave him away bit by bit.

Magno was the prime suspect as BaBoy. But because he has a pending lawsuit against Balita, which means he would not do anything to affect the case, the guess shifted to Rivera mainly due to the appearance of his article in BaBoy's website. Rivera was not even in the list of the top 10 suspects in BaBoy's group. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q8Ay6X1Thk).

It was at this juncture that Magno wrote to Rivera, informing him that he was being considered as BaBoy himself. "Brod," Magno wrote, "watch out for this guy. This is a piece on you and he is threatening to come out with more". That was after this reporter published an article online entitled "Hook, Line and Sinker - Outing the Clandestine 'BaBoy'.

Magno's warning prompted Rivera to tell what he knew about BaBoy in an email to Ms. Cusipag. In that email, he also reminded her about his friendship with her deceased husband, the journalist Ruben Cusipag, who founded Balita in 1978. (Full story at: http://www.balita.ca/about/the-editor/).

He wrote: "I have always cherished my friendship with your husband Ruben, and his outstanding work as a community journalist here in Toronto has never been diminished by his passing. That relationship extends to you, as I have always considered you as a friend".

Rivera further clarified to Ms. Cusipag, thus: "Magno is just my fraternity brod at UP but our relationship ends there. I'm surprised why Romy (this reporter) would suspect me as part of the group behind Balita Boycott, whose website I just saw today for the very first time. 

"Incidentally, I wrote the blog article referenced by Romy as a general observation on the state of Filipino community journalism in Toronto at the time (May 2012). Os (Magno) and his group chose to reprint it in their maiden issue of their Balita Boycott website, unfortunately without my knowledge and permission".

"I have stopped writing my blog in 2014 to devote time to painting as my new avocation in retirement. I will be seventy years old this month, too old to be involved in Balita's quarrel with Os, or even with Jun (Tobias) Enverga. If Romy is on a fishing expedition, kindly tell him he's not going to find anything linking me with Os and his group". (Originally published on March 13, 2017)