BAGUIO CITY – The City Prosecutor’s Office formally inhibited itself in the investigation of the slander and cyber libel charges filed by Councilor Maria Mylen Victoria G. Yaranon against Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong.
In his indorsement dated October 13, 2022, City Prosecutor Conrado V. Catral, Jr. forwarded to Deputy Regional Prosecutor Christopher A. Sarano, who is also the officer-in-charge of the Regional State Prosecutor in Region 1, the entire records of NPS No. I-17-INV-22-1927 entitled Councilor Maria Mylen Victoria G. Yaranon versus Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong consisting of 21 pages, including the said indorsement, and 3 compact discs in 3 sets, considering that the main respondents in the case is the city’s mayor while the complainant is also an official of the city being a councilor to avoid any insinuations of undue influence, suspicion and partiality.
The voluntary inhibition of the City Prosecutor’s Office from resolving the filed charges was forwarded to the Regional State Prosecutor for information and appropriate action.
On October 12, 2022, Councilor Yaranon formally filed slander and cyber libel charges against Magalong for his alleged malicious remarks against the former in his speech during the regular flag raising ceremony held at the City Hall grounds last July 4, 2022.
Further, the alleged malicious remarks against the local legislator was posted in the mayor’s Facebook page which could constitute the crime of cyber libel based on the pertinent provisions of the Cyber Crime Law.
Councilor Yaranon explained that the decision to file the charges against the local chief executive was the consensus of their clan that is why it took her a while to file this and because of the illegal acts of the mayor, she suffered moral damages, anxiety, depression and sleepless nights which can be compensated in the amount of P500,000.
Yaranon also had to contract the services of a lawyer, where she suffered the amount of P150,000 by way of attorney’s fees plus P3,000 per appearance.
Yaranon pointed out that as clearly shown above, she was the main subject of Magalong’s statement during the said flag raising ceremony.
On the mayor’s speech, she explained that she was accused of intentionally twisting facts and figures and of namomolitika, namamangka sa dalawang ilog and she was also accused of doing nothing when the architects that she called to help in the planning of the rehabilitation of the city public market are allegedly asking for 10 percent of the total amount of the project.
“Magalong clearly attacked and discredited my reputation not only as a public official but also as a person. He insinuated that I am a person of no principle and a public official that is not doing anything on matters of public interest,” Yaranon stressed. Contributed article
