3 radiomen face libel charges
THE municipal mayor of Mangaldan IN PANGASINAN PROVINCE HAS fiLED LIBEL AND CYBERLIBEL COMPLAINTS AGAINST THREE MEDIA MEN AND A FORMER MAYOR BEFORE THE CITY PROSECUTOR’S OFfiCE IN THE PROVINCE.
Mayor Marilyn de Guzman-Lambino filed the complaint on Monday, March 21, 2022, against broadcasters Orlando “Orly’” Navarro and Raul “Insyong” Tamayo, both of DWIZ 89.3 FM, and Dante Cera of DWCM Aksyon Radyo.
The charges stemmed from an allegedly malicious commentary of the three radiomen in connection with a complaint filed against the mayor and her husband, Secretary Raul Lambino, Presidential Adviser for
Northern Luzon and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority administrator and chief executive officer, before the Office of the Ombudsman.
“These broadcasters sensationalized the issue and made conclusive remarks to put the Lambinos in [a] bad light. In due time, we can prove that the complainants are fictitious and the complaint is fabricated and pure lies,” lawyer Joseph Frianeza, the legal counsel of the mayor, said.
Frianeza said the Lambino couple were falsely charged with rape, child abuse and serious physical injuries by fictitious mother-and-daughter complainants who claimed to have served as their housemaids.
Meanwhile, former mayor Bona Fe de Vera-Parayno of Mangaldan town and newsman Jaime Aquino are also facing libel and cyberlibel charges before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Pangasinan.
De Guzman-Lambino was accompanied by Frianeza when she filed the case on Monday charging de Vera-Parayno for her alleged participation in preparing and filing also of the reportedly fabricated complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against the mayor and her husband.
Along with others, de Vera-Parayno and Aquino allegedly concocted stories and used fictitious persons to act as complainants against the Lambino couple and reportedly prepared a press release containing the fabricated cases of rape, child abuse and serious physical injuries against the couple that was amplified by several media men in Pangasinan and Metro Manila.
The press release was allegedly distributed by the respondents through online and hard copies and reportedly helped the victims to reach out to Professor Salvador de Guzman, head of Citizens Movement Against Corruption, Crime, Illegal Drugs and Gambling Inc.
The Lambinos said de Guzman is allegedly a “pseudo name” being used by Aquino and that the professor’s group is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In social media posts, Aquino denied all the allegations made against him by the Lambinos.
During the 2019 mayoralty elections, de Guzman-Lambino defeated de Vera-Parayno, then a reelectionist.
Both de Guzman-Lambino and de Vera-Parayno will face each other again in the May 2022 local polls.
“Ex-Mayor Parayno, in her press conference, made an inexplicable persistence that the Lambinos should be held liable for the offenses charged against them, so her participation is irrefutable,” Frianeza said.
Earlier, the mayor also filed libel and cyber libel complaints against local broadcasters Joel Balolong of DWCM Aksyon Radyo, Dennis Mojares of DWJE 88.1 FM, Tito Tamayo of DWIZ 89.3 and DWJE 88.1 FM.