Villar ex-lawyer pleads not guilty to libel

Senator Manny Villar. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

A former in-house lawyer of Sen. Manny Villar has pleaded not guilty to a libel charge filed against him by the senator and his company.

Lawyer Restituto “Resty” Mendoza on Tuesday entered a not guilty plea in the sala of judge Emily Geluz of the Las Piñas Regional Trial Court Branch 255, where Mendoza is facing a libel charge from Villar and his real estate company, Adelfa Properties Inc.

Mendoza is being accused of making a defamatory statement in a television interview in April 2010, when he said “there are extra-legal matters being done” in the cases he has handled for Villar.