FILE PHOTO: Walden Bello. INQUIRER.net FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Vice presidential candidate Walden Bello should be “man enough to face the consequences of his own actions” amid the cyberlibel complaint lodged against him, the spokesperson of Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio said Thursday.
Christina Frasco, the spokesperson of Duterte-Carpio, and the mayor of Liloan, Cebu, made the remark after Bello filed his counter-affidavit to the cyberlibel complaint filed against him by a former information officer of the Davao City government.
“Now that Mr. Bello is being held to account before our justice system, he should be man enough to face the consequences of his own actions rather than hide behind his penchant for attacking Mayor Sara Duterte as a smokescreen for his inability to substantiate his wild claims with actual facts and evidence,” Frasco said in a statement.
In March, former Davao City public information officer Jefry Tupas filed a cyberlibel complaint against Bello for the latter’s “utterly false” statements that Tupas was “nabbed at a beach party” where he and his friends “were snorting P1.5 million worth of drugs”.
In response to the cyberlibel complaint, Bello said the complaint is a way of deviating public attention from Duterte-Carpio’s “cowardice” to join debates.
Bello previously criticized Duterte-Carpio for her decision not to attend debates. During a vice presidential debate in February, Bello called Duterte-Carpio a “coward.”
“The cyberlibel complaint filed against Walden Bello, his persona non-grata status, and his deliberate failure to disclose information and cooperate with law enforcement on alleged illegal drug activities, are but the result of his own actions and utterances,” Frasco said.
“This has nothing to do with Mayor Sara Duterte or the debates as Mr. Bello himself is the author of his own fate, having paraded blatant lies and peddled falsehoods with nary a concern for the truth,” she added.
On Wednesday, Bello entered Davao City’s Sangguniang Panglungsod building session hall, sat at the chair of Davao Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte and then banged the gavel.
Today while presiding at the Davao City Council, I declared all those who declared me persona non grata in Davao persona non grata in the eyes of the Filipino people. pic.twitter.com/lbciGfmeHs
— Walden Bello (@WaldenBello) April 20, 2022
Duterte, the brother of Duterte-Carpio, is seeking the mayoral post of Davao City where Bello has been declared persona non grata.
“Pulling stunts like he did by making a mockery of the revered halls of Davao City’s Sangguniang Panlungsod only serves to further insult the peace-loving people of Davao and reveal the true nature of his character,” Frasco said.