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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Public officials should be open to criticism - Rep. Defensor

Public officials should be open to criticism - Rep. Defensor

Published Mar 12, 2022 03:28 pm

Quezon City mayoral candidate and Anakalusugan Party-list Representative Mike Defensor on Tuesday, March 8, said that he has never filed a single libel case against anyone as he understands that public officials are subject to criticism.

Defensor made his point when he was asked about the 102 counts of cyber libel raps filed against him by incumbent QC Mayor Joy Belmonte.

“I have never filed a single case against any reporter, against anyone, kasi ang thinking ko public official kami, open field kami, open playing field and we’re subject to criticism. Normal naman ‘yan sa isang public official (because what I’m thinking is that we’re public officials, open playing fields and we're subject to criticism. That is normal for a public official," Defensor said.

He explained that he decided to run because of the lapses that his team found regarding the total cost of the purchase orders of the local government for the pandemic assistance, which they believe was “overpriced.”

“They could have used the money for more ayuda (help) or for supporting many people in terms of kabuhayan (livelihood), transportation, ‘yung mga tricycle walang kinikita, ‘yung mga jeepney talagang hirap. So we were saying na bakit ganito ‘yung nangyari? (tricycle drivers are not earning, jeepney drivers suffer. So we’re saying why did this happen?),” he said.

Belmonte filed the cyber libel case against Defensor on Feb. 24 due to two “malicious” Facebook posts under different accounts that allegedly have links to the lawmaker and his team.

On March 3, Defensor responded to Belmonte’s complaint, saying that it was just a “publicity gimmick” by the current mayor. He urged her to explain the plunder cases on the overpriced pandemic assistance.

He said that there are also posts on social media that criticized him, but he never got mad or filed charges against anyone.

“We understand its part of the game, they can say these things,” Defensor said.

Read more: https://mb.com.ph/2022/03/03/mayor-belmonte-files-cyber-libel-raps-vs-rep-defensor/

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Quezon City Mike Defensor
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