Dy to file libel suit vs bishop

ILAGAN, Isabela — Gov. Faustino Dy Jr. is poised to file a multimillion-peso libel suit against Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena who accused him and Chief Superintendent Ro—mulo Sales, Cagayan Valley police director, of having a hand in the resurgence of jueteng in neighboring Nueva Vizcaya.

"My lawyers are now preparing the (libel) complaint against the bishop. We’ll make him answerable for these baseless and unfounded accusations," Dy said yesterday.

Earlier, the bishop said he is ready to face any libel suit resulting from his allegations.

"If afterwards these people will charge me for libel, (I’ll tell them to) go ahead," he said.

Villena alleged that Dy and Sales had put pressure on Senior Superintendent Jesus Manubay, Nueva Vizcaya police director, to allow the revival of the illegal numbers game.

Dy dismissed the allegations as "malicious, baseless and unfounded." "Why should I meddle in the affairs of others. We are busy attending to insurgency and crime problems in my own province," he said.

Dy said Villena should have first gotten his side before airing the accusations. "Now he has to prove that in court," he said.

Sales, for his part, said, "If there’s pressure from the governor, it’s to stop jueteng."

Sales, who was at Camp Crame for a command conference, said he does not know why his name was dragged into the jueteng issue, adding though that he refuses to engage in a fight with the bishop.

Quoting people whom he described as reliable sources, Villena alleged that Dy and Sales had pressured Manubay into turning a blind eye and allowing jueteng in Nueva Vizcaya. — With Christina Mendez