Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan shows copies of the Ombudsman decision on the dismissal of complaints filed against him. | CDN File photo
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu – A Regional Trial Court Judge in Lapu-Lapu City has ordered the arrest of seven barangay captains led by Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president and Bankal barangay captain Eduardo Cuizon.
The warrant of arrest signed by RTC Branch 53 Judge Anna Marie Militante, on May 13, 2022, was in relation to the grave oral defamation in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Act of 2012 complaint that was filed by Mayor Junard Chan.
Accused barangay captains Cuizon, Eleonor Fontanoza (Gun-ob), Regina Ybañez (Looc), Triponia Abayan (Tungasan), Joselito Tibon (Suba-Basabas), Reynaldo Tampus (Canjulao), and Rosalino Abing (Maribago) were also directed to post bail of P36, 000 each.
“No comment lang sa ko, wala pami nagka-istorya sa akong lawyer,” Cuizon told CDN Digital when sought for comment.
Cuizon said he is currently in Leyte to attend to business concerns.
CDN Digital also tried to get the statement of his co-accused but calls made to their private numbers were unanswered as of this writing.
Last March 15, 2022, Chan filed a complaint before the City Prosecutor’s Office against the seven barangay captains whom he accused of “fabricating” stories against him.
A separate complaint for perjury against the same barangay captains remains pending before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office.
Earlier, the respondent barangay captains filed a complaint for the malversation of public funds and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against Chan, members of the city’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), and the winning bidder over the “questionable” COVID-19 purchases the city made amounting to over P47 million.
The said case remains pending before the Office of the Ombudsman for the Visayas.
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