Former Tagbilaran City mayor Dan Lim on Monday said he will file counter-charges against outgoing Governor Art Yap who earlier sued him and two others for inciting to sedition.
In an interview over station DYRD, Lim said he will file the countersuit against Yap for “damages” incurred during the eight-month long period in which the governor’s complaint remained pending before the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office.
“In due time, akong studyohan ni kay mo file jud ko og kaso. I intend to file a case for damages mahitungod niini,” said Lim.
According to Lim, Yap’s complaint was filed with the intent of harassing him and his co-respondents, Chronicle associate editor Peter Dejaresco and Makati-based businessman Willy Ramasola.
He alleged that Yap’s filing of the case before a Makati City prosecutor was intended to cause inconvenience as both he and Dejaresco are based in Tagbilaran City.
“Ang katingad-an nimo ngano mi-file man sa Makati. Why? So pang-harass gyud or naa ba kaha siyay connection didto sa Makati,” said Lim.
The former city chief executive noted that he will file the countercharge to deter other politicians from filing a case just to silence critics, particularly “ordinary citizens.”
“Og di ni nako file-an, luoy kaayo ang mga Boholano na file-an lang ko og bisag unsang kaso labina sa Manila. Lisod kaayo og ato ning e-tolerate ma tayo-tayo lang ang ordinaryong Bol-anon na di na mo tingog kay lisod kaayo og gukdon ka na ingon ini,” said Lim.
He added it was the first time in recent history that a politician filed an inciting to sedition charge against a critic.
“I’ve been a critic sa mga administration dinhi pero wa ko kadawat og mga nganang kaso. It’s only Governor Yap who did it,” he said.
Last week, the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed Yap’s case against Lim, Dejaresco and Ramasola for lack of probable cause.
Lim lamented that the case dragged on for eight months at the prosecutor’s office, but acknowledged that it was partly due to the reassignment of former assistant city prosecutor Alvin Pua. (R. Tutas)