Court asked to declare solon unfit for position

BACOLOD CITY—A lawyer running for councilor of San Carlos City has asked the Regional Trial Court (RTC) to declare Negros Occidental 1st district Rep. Julio Ledesma IV not fit for public office.

In his petition filed April 18 at the San Carlos RTC, lawyer Epifanio Liberal Jr. said the physical and mental incapacity of Ledesma was “publicly known” as they allegedly manifest themselves whenever he appears in public functions.

“His speech is not discernable and is incoherent. This is further aggravated by his hand gestures and body language which show symptoms of physical and mental illness,” according to the petition furnished by Negros Occidental Provincial Board Member Nehemias de la Cruz to the Inquirer.

The petitioner asked the RTC to subpoena the medical directors of two facilities, requiring them to present Ledesma’s medical records in court.

“We will all be benefited if there is sufficient medical clearance that respondent can fully discharge his duties as a congressman of his district,” the petitioner said.

Liberal, who is running for councilor under the ticket of De la Cruz, said he filed the petition as part of his civic duty as a concerned citizen and voter. De la Cruz is running for congressman in the first district against Ledesma of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

But Ledesma’s lawyer, Dan Pondevilla, said the petitioner was the one with unsound mind. “No lawyer of sound mind would file a case like that without attaching any documentary evidence,” Pondevilla said.

He called the petition “pure and simple allegations without evidence.”

Pondevilla added that it is “mere black propaganda.”

“The congressman will not tolerate these kinds of tactics and black propaganda. He will file cases for damages, perjury and an administrative case for disbarment against the petitioner and the lawyer who assisted him,” he added.