BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – Mayor Jerry Treñas vowed to haul Iloilo Provincial Information Officer Nereo Lujan even up to the Supreme Court.
“Napuno na gid ang gantangan. Kalison na ang nag sobra,” said Treñas.
The mayor’s law firm is currently gathering evidence to support the filing of cyber libel and administrative charges against Lujan.
“He (Lujan) has been harassing me and my family for a long time already for no reason at all. I have finally had enough of his cyber harassment,” Treñas said, referring to several posts of Lujan on his Facebook page.
But Lujan denied maligning the mayor in his several social media posts. He said he just wanted the city official to be “transparent” on all the city’s official transactions.
“Transparency allows citizens to understand the reasoning behind policies, expenditures, and initiatives, empowering them to participate more effectively in governance,” Lujan said in a statement on his Facebook page.
“It is not about airing dirty laundry; it is about ensuring that the public understands why and how decisions are made,” he added.
While he felt sad that his actions caused “distress” to the mayor, Lujan, however, stressed that his intention was “not to harass you but to seek clarification” particularly on the demolition of the Iloilo Central Market.
“While I am a government employee, I too am a taxpayer, and I believe it is important to hold our public officials accountable and ensure transparency in governance. If my inquiries have caused any discomfort, I express my regrets, but I stand by my right to seek answers,” said Lujan.
But Treñas said of Lujan: “He is not a member of the media. He is a government official who is supposedly guided by the code of ethical standards. Where in his list of functions is he duty-bound to cyberbully and harass the city mayor?”
Filing charges against Lujan means allowing the country’s justice system to decide “what a public official can do or cannot do in cyber harassing or putting in ridicule a person whether he is a public official or not,” said the mayor.
“The constant non-stop, whole-year-round attacks by a public official in Facebook against me should be decided whether it is legal or illegal by the courts,” said Treñas.
He added: “This person has believed his public official position has given him additional rights. Let us ask the legal institutions if this is correct so that all other public officials will also do the same to other persons.”
“If not, then let us find another way to vent our anger to other persons. I will continue with my legal actions. Enough is enough,” said Treñas./PN
