Town councilor sued for grave coercion

HILONGOS, LEYTE, Philippines  —The Ombudsman-Visayas recently filed a criminal case of grave coercion, under Article 286 of the Revised Penal Code, against Councilor Alberto Villahermosa.

Ombudsman graft investigator and prosecution officer Irish Inabangan Amores filed the charge, criminal case # M-Hos-11-00025-CR, before the Hilongos Municipal Trial Court, after certifying that a preliminary investigation was already conducted against the councilor.

The document stated that there is sufficient ground to "engender a well-founded belief that the crime charged has been committed and that the accused is probably guilty thereof."

Last September, Villahermosa was already found guilty in the administrative aspect of the same case, but he was able to invoke his rights under the Aguinaldo Doctrine, thus freeing him from the penalty of suspension.

Under the Aguinaldo Doctrine, any re-elected official may not be held administratively accountable for misconduct committed during his prior term of office. Villahermosa got re-elected as councilor of this town in the May 2010 elections.

Villahermosa's case started on July 5 2008 when he had a dispute over a property with the Bibat siblings, Jacinto and Victoriano Jr who was a minor.

In the information of the case, Villahermosa, then a councilor at that time, "without authority of the law, armed with a bolo, taking advantage of his superior strength and by means of violence and intimidation, willfully, unlawfully, feloniously and forcibly prevent" the Bibat siblings from constructing a perimeter fence around a property in Brgy. Lamak of this town.

The father of the councilor was also included in the complaint filed by the Bibats, but was cleared from the case due to lack of probable cause.

The FREEMAN has tried to contact by all means Villahermosa and the complainants but failed, as of press time.  (FREEMAN)