A member of the Mondia family filed a criminal case for libel and an administrative case for grave misconduct in office and oppression against 20 barangay captains of Pulupandan town before the Office of the Ombudsman for Visayas Thursday.

The cases were filed by Gina Mondia-Villanueva, an employee of the Integrated Stevedoring and Arrastre Corp. in Pulupandan town, a copy furnished the DAILY STAR yesterday showed.

Named in the cases she filed were barangays captains Lissa Marie Bantigue (Brgy. Zone 1), Ericson Cepida (Zone 1-A), Tino Estares (Zone 2), Hernaldo Era (Zone 3), Wilfredo Servania (Zone 4), Jimmy Polido (Zone 4-A), Cynthia Barrato (Zone 5), Allan Jacildo (Zone 6), Gilnor Desengaño (Zone 7), Francisco Dorepes Jr. (Canjusa), Johnald Juaneza (Crossing Pulupandan), Ronnie Moreño (Culo), Romulo Campantero (Utod), Rosal Ortega (Pag-ayon), Jonah Jarlata (Tapong), John Ordaniel (Palaka Sur), Erna Tortocion (Palaka Norte), Ramil Tenero (Mabini), Ramon Tandoy (Ubay) and Roberto Valenzuela (Patic) .

The 20 Pulupandan barangay captains had written Philippine Ports Authority general manager Oscar Sevilla to cancel the contract of ISACOR that operates the arrastre and stevedoring services of the port of Pulupandan town and Pulupandan Mayor Magdaleno Peña asking him not to renew the business permit of ISACOR in Pulupandan.

Villanueva, in her complaint, said the barangay captains through Peña “publicly, maliciously and feloniously, with intent to impute a crime, vice, or defect against identifiable members of the Mondia family, including myself” caused the submission and publication of their letter to Sevilla in the Visayan DAILY STAR.

This, she said, caused her and the rest of her family “dishonor, discredit and contempt in the eyes of the public” as well as moral and actual damages.

The barangay captains in their letters to Sevilla and Mondia said it would be in the best interest, not only of Pulupandan, but also of the province not to renew the contract and permit of ISACOR “considering that the Mondia family is a known supporter of the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army.”

Samson Mondia, ISACOR vice president, in the same DAILY STAR story published on Feb. 4 said the accusations cited by the barangay captains are “irresponsible and baseless” and designed to harass and malign his family.

Villanueva, in her complaint, said that, considering the number of readers of the DAILY STAR newspaper and website, “the reputation of the Mondia family, collectively and individually, including myself, was really tarnished and destroyed by reason of the above malicious imputations of these 20 barangay captains of Pulupandan.”

The barangay captains did not even dare to substantiate their allegations by showing any document or evidence to prove their highly malicious imputations and assaults to our honor and prestige, she said.

The barangay captains intentionally disregarded the fact that the cases filed by Peña against some members of the Mondia family, including her husband, Carlos Villanueva, for his ambush on May 30, 2007 are still pending investigation before the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Negros Occidental, she said.

The various police reports immediately after the May 30, 2007 ambush and subsequently submitted to higher PNP officials never mentioned the names of any member of the Mondia family but simply unidentified persons in their early 20s, an age bracket where not one of the respondent Mondias belong, she said.

The defamatory words of the barangay captains in the letter were only meant to discredit the Mondias before the public in general and the PPA in particular to hamper our business and economically cripple us, she said.

The manifest intent of the barangay captains to use their public offices, together with the office of the mayor, to oppress the Mondia family to stop the operations of ISACOR in the Pulupandan port satisfies the requirements of administrative charges, she said.*CPG

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