Gladys Adonis, the wife of jailed Davao Alexander “Lex” Adonis, said her husband has been admitted to the prison hospital in early October. She said Adonis, an anchorman of Bombo Radio-Davao sentenced to four and a half years in prison early this year, had been feeling utterly “abandoned and depressed,” and is thinking of ending his life.
BY GERMELINA A. LACORTE
Davao Today
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 40, November 11-17, 2007
DAVAO CITY—Gravely ill and losing much weight after spending six months inside the Davao Penal Colony (Dapecol) prison, the Davao broadcaster jailed for libel is now thinking of ending his life.
Gladys Adonis, the wife of jailed Davao Alexander “Lex” Adonis, said her husband has been admitted to the prison hospital in early October. She said Adonis, an anchorman of Bombo Radio-Davao sentenced to four and a half years in prison early this year, had been feeling utterly “abandoned and depressed,” and is thinking of ending his life.
She said Adonis felt “very depressed” after he learned that he missed the scheduled interview for his parole twice because the information never reached him on the actual date. “He told me everybody has abandoned him,” said Adonis’ wife. “The information only was up to the prison gate and it never reached him,” she said. “He only learned about it, later, and it was already too late.”
She said Adonis has lost much weight and is only weighing 40 kilos now. “Payat na kaayo siya” (he’s already very thin), Adonis’ wife said. “He said he wanted to end his life.”
“He has lost much weight and has been hospitalized,” Adonis’ wife said. “He has been sent to the prison hospital early this week for treatment after having been found positive for rashes in his lungs.” She said the doctor said her husband could have gotten the illness inside the jail, where the poor living condition could have brought his defenses down.
Adonis was convicted of four and a half years in prison for libel after he reported on an affair of a powerful politician who, according to Court records, was reportedly caught running naked inside a Manila hotel after his paramour’s husband caught them inside a hotel room.
Adonis conviction had revived the debate on whether libel should be decriminalized in the country, where powerful politicians increasingly turn to it as a tool to suppress press freedom, according to the statement from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).
International media groups, including the New York-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the IFEX, the Paris-based Reporters Beyond Borders, the Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) had earlier condemned his conviction and pressed for the decriminalization of libel.
“We don’t understand why he was treated like a criminal,” said Adonis’ mother, Nelly Adonis, “He did not kill nor rape a person,” she said. “He just happened to anger someone who is close to the President.” Davao Today / Posted by (Bulatlat.com)
