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Sunday, July 15, 2007
Pampanga mayor mulls 3rd libel case v. telco magnate
By Dante M. Fabian
MABALACAT, Pampanga –- Mabalacat Mayor "Boking" Marino Morales will be filing another libel case against telecommunications magnate Anthony Dee for allegedly accusing him of involvement in the fire that burned contested ballots in the last elections.
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Dee was also Morales political rival for the mayoralty post during the last elections.
The libel suit Morales is mulling is in addition to the two other libel cases filed last week against Dee before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in the City of San Fernando.
The 3rd libel suit, Morales planned to file is in reaction to Dee’s statement over a television interview where the businessman allegedly implicated the mayor in the burning of 163 ballot boxes stored at the Mabalacat Municipal Hall on June 7, 2007.
The burned ballot boxes were the subject of an electoral protest filed by gubernatorial candidate Lilia Pineda and Dee.
The first two libel cases filed by Morales against Dee were based on accusations in stories published in the local weekly Pampanga News and Punto Central Luzon.
When asked by reporters, Dee denied implicating Morales in the burning of the ballots.
Morales will file the third libel case against his political opponent through his lawyer Pingoy Lopez. He asked Lopez to prepare his latest damage suit against Dee.
In hopes of speeding up the investigation on the burning, Dee had earlier offered a reward of P100,000 which was later raised to P400,000 for information on the whereabouts of maintenance chief Rommel Sibal and utility worker Jess Dungca.
Sibal and Dungca were reportedly seen at the town hall premises before the fire gutted the ballot boxes.
The ballot boxes were supposed to be transferred to the Angeles City Regional Trial Court Branch 59 as evidence in the electoral protest filed by Dee against Morales.
Morales won by 750 votes against Dee who claimed that cheating in the last elections.
However, Morales had repeatedly denied such massive cheating saying the conduct of elections in the town was "orderly and peaceful."
According to the mayor, Dee has destroyed his credibility as a public servant in Mabalacat. (Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (July 15, 2007 issue)
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