Hagedorn files libel complaint vs lawyer

MANILA, Philippines - Former Puerto Princesa City mayor Edward Hagedorn has filed a libel complaint against a lawyer who accused him of falsifying his statement on assets and liabilities and net worth (SALN).

Hagedorn filed the libel complaint against lawyer Berteni Causing before the Puerto Princesa City prosecutor’s office, seeking P5 million in moral damages. He said he also plans to file a disbarment case against Causing.

The former mayor’s action stemmed from Causing’s interview with Eljin Robert Damasco, station manager of Radio Mindanao Network Palawan, where he accused Hagedorn of hiding 59 properties from his SALN from 2004 to 2012.

“The interview has exposed me to public hatred, contempt and ridicule, by imputing to me the offense of perjury and falsification,” Hagedorn said in his nine-page complaint-affidavit.

“He (Causing) did not bother to look at the attachments to the SALN which details all the properties. He only used the front part where we summarized the four classes of real properties, but clearly the SALN referred to a two-page attachment entitled Certification (Property Holdings) that was filed in the records division of the Puerto Princesa BIR in full compliance with the law,” Hagedorn told journalists yesterday.