Baguio councilor lodges slander, libel raps vs Magalong

Baguio City Councilor Mylen Yaranon (left) and Mayor Benjamin Magalong. Yaranon’s Facebook page/INQUIRER FILES

BAGUIO CITY — Councilor Mylen Yaranon on Wednesday filed slander and libel complaints against Mayor Benjamin Magalong for accusing her of “twisting facts and figures” and “politicking.”

Yaranon, who filed her complaints with the Office of City Prosecutor, said Magalong made some “malicious imputations” that allegedly caused her “dishonor” and “discredited” her.

She said her slander complaint stemmed from Magalong’s speech during the July 4 flag-raising ceremony at the city hall grounds, while the libel complaint was for an open letter posted on Magalong’s Facebook page.

Yaranon and Magalong’s tiff stemmed from their dissenting opinions on developing the former Bibak dormitory lot on Harrison Road and issues about the rehabilitation of the city’s public market.

READ: P50-million market racket uncovered in Baguio

According to the councilor, Magalong hurled accusations beyond the development issues.

Yaranon also mentioned the mayor’s alleged imputation that she supported “two adversarial political parties during the 2022 elections.”

She said the mayor even accused her of “doing nothing when the architects that I called to help in the planning of the rehabilitation of the market are allegedly asking for 10 percent of the total amount of the project.”

READ: More evidence of Baguio market racket found

According to her, Magalong also accused her of not doing anything about the alleged sub-standard projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the city.

“Mayor Magalong clearly attacked and discredited my reputation not only as a public official but also as a person,” Yaranon stated in her complaint.

She added: “He (Magalong) insinuated that I am a person of no principle and a public official that is not doing anything on matters of public interest.”

The councilor asked for P500,000 to compensate her “moral damages, anxiety, depression and sleepless nights.”

She added that she had to spend P150,000 in attorneys’ fees and pay a P3,000 appearance fee (per appearance) as the case progressed.

Magalong has yet to issue a statement on Yaranon’s complaints against him.

But he previously said that he was willing to face any charges that would be filed against him after the same speech during the flag-raising ceremony, adding that the people “deserve a better Baguio” and that he was promoting good governance.

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