What’s wrong with pointing out what’s wrong?

This is my reaction to the news item which came out in the March 18 issue of Inquirer titled “Heritage advocate: What’s libelous about citing book errors?”

I fully support the noble effort of food heritage advocate John Sherwin Felix in pointing out the errors found in a government-funded book on regional cuisines titled “Kayumanggi: A Kaleidoscope of Filipino Flavors and Food Traditions,” written by Jose Antonio Miguel Melchor, a private sector representative in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Malikhaing Pinoy Creative Council. Melchor sued Felix for cyberlibel at the Makati City prosecutor’s office when Felix posted on Facebook the numerous errors (“so many mistakes,” “dozens of them”) he found in Melchor’s book, which was named Best Asian Food Culture Book in the World at the 2025 Gourmand Awards held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Melchor’s complaint alleges that Felix’s posts were reckless, malicious, and libelous. Felix is absolutely right to act the way he did—in good faith, with no ill motive, and without malice. It is rooted in his right as an expert in his field, a researcher, a journalist, an ordinary citizen concerned about accuracy and, above all, a taxpayer.

“Kayumanggi” was published using public money through the DTI and is, therefore, a public document. The public has all the right not just to buy it and read it but also to freely express the thoughts and feelings that their reading of it generated in them. What is libelous about publicizing the errors when they are indeed errors?

I can totally relate to what Felix is now undergoing. During my 30-year-long crusade against defective and error-riddled textbooks, I was subjected to all manner of derision, insult, coercion, intimidation, threats, and four criminal complaints for libel and light threats. My advice to Felix is for him to stand firm and know that he is in the right. When people in error refuse to admit their mistakes, it just means that they aren’t willing to correct themselves.

I recently bought a locally published “English Dictionary” written by Golda Verceles that is literally crawling with errors and “daffy-nitions” from the first atrocious page to the sordid last. I shudder to think of the profound, long-lasting, and irreparable damage this so-called reference book will inflict upon a poor hapless student who had the bad luck and misfortune to buy it!

Bad books, or those I call “textbuloks,” especially those funded using public money, like Sara Duterte’s “Isang Kaibigan,” which I pilloried for its many errors (see “Friend or Foe?,” 8/31/24), ought to be burned at the bonfire of the vanities.