COMPLAINTS of illegal arrest and illegal detention will be filed this week against re-elected La Castellana Mayor Rhumyla Nicor-Mangilimutan and the police force of La Castellana Municipal Police Station, lawyer Reynaldo Estandarte said.
Estandarte, legal counsel of complainant Reynaldo Villa Torre, said they were preparing the documents to support their complaint which will be filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.
He said Villa Torre’s 17-year old son will also file separate charges for child abuse against the mayor and the police.
Villa Torre, a political supporter of defeated La Castellana mayoralty candidate Chad Feria, was arrested while having dinner at his house in Barangay Cabacungan for alleged libel on May 11.
He was released on May 13 with no charges filed against him up to the present time.
Estandarte pointed out that a citizen’s arrest could not be made against Villa Torre because he was already inside his house and he was not caught in the act committing a crime.
He said Villa Torrre’s son was also asked to pointto his father as the person responsible for the dissemination of black propaganda during campaign.
“He was asked (the minor) to point his father as culprit so it’s a violation of family bond for trying to put in rift between a father and a son,” he added.
An election protest and violation of the Omnibus Election Code was filed earlier with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against the La Castellana mayor.
Nicor-Mangilimutan has said that she will also sue the complainant for damages.
Nicor-Mangilimutan won her re-election bid against Chad Feria with a lead of 3,000 votes.
The mayor said she is filing libel charges against a supporter of her opponent for allegedly distributing black propaganda materials that maligned her and her family.
She said they delayed the filing of charges as she hoped that the person concerned would show remorse.
For his part, Feria said that he’s willing to support his supporters since they need his help and have the right to file complaints.