Vice Presidential candidate Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s political spokesperson Liloan Mayor Christina Frasco reacted to photos online showing Partido Lakas ng Masa VP bet Walden Bello entering the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) of Davao City even sat on the Presiding Officer’s chair on April 20, 2022.
“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 in a statement.
Bello reportedly visited the SP to obtain a copy of the resolution filed against him by the 19th City Council declaring him ‘Persona Non-Grata’ last month after claiming that Davao City was a trading hub of illegal drugs during the Vice Presidential debate last month hosted by CNN Philippines.
The morning of the same day, Bello also filed his counter-affidavit against the cyber libel case filed against him by former City Information Office head Jefry Tupas in the Hall of Justice in Ecoland, Davao City.
Last month, Tupas filed a P10 million cyber libel case against Bello before the City Prosecutor’s Office in Davao City. It can be recalled that Bello brought up the issue of Tupas after Mayor Sara did not attend the said debate.
Frasco said the cyber libel complaint filed against 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 actions and utterances.
“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 said.
Frasco added that Bello should be man enough to face the consequences of his own actions.
“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,” she said.
Meanwhile, on his Facebook account, Bello posted that his lead counsel Atty. Luke Espiritu is going all the way in the defense of him, describing his case as emblematic of the wider repression of dissent by the state.
“The way Sara Duterte has reacted to our challenge for a debate — declaring me persona non grata in Davao, filing cyber libel charges, calling me a narco politician — is a preview of how she will address issues if she were to win the election, not by rational discussion but by mechanisms of character assassination and other underhanded methods. Magpakita ka sa debate, talawan Sara!” Bello posted.
