Tionko picked up subpoena from fiscal's office

CEBU, Philippines - James Philip Tionko, who failed in his bid for Cebu City councilor last May, denied that he moved to another house so the subpoena asking him to answer Mayor-elect Michael Rama’s libel complaint was not served.

The subpoena from the City Prosecutor’s Office was dated May 9, a day before the elections.

Tionko said there were other items delivered to their house in Maryville Subdivision, Talamban on the following days using the same address, so there should be no reason for the failure to deliver the subpoena.

“As a matter of fact, I’ve been waiting for that. Unya, naa ra man gyud ko diri sa balay, nganung wala man nako nadawat. I have my worries. I am worried of this case because the fiscal gets allowance from the City Government but I hope my worries will be unfounded,” he said.

Tionko, however, is not planning to ask the city prosecutor to inhibit from the case. “I think I still have faith with the justice system,” he said.

After reading the reports from the newspapers, he went to the fiscal office to personally get the subpoena and to clarify that he did not transfer to another place.

“Sa reporter ra gani ko nakahibaw ani. I will definitely answer this. I was given 10 days to reply. Nagstorya na mi sa akong abogado so ugma mag-meeting mi kung unsa ang among itubag,” he said. (I learned about this only from the media. I’ll discuss this with my lawyer.)

Rama filed a libel case against Tionko last April 28 for accusing the former of being a drug lord protector.

In his affidavit, Rama said that malice was evident on the part of Tionko. Rama claimed that Tionko purposely called for a press conference to attack and malign him.

Although he already won the mayoral race, Rama said he will still pursue the case. “I think my lawyer knows what to do. I will pursue it until the end.” — THE FREEMAN