By Leonardo Micua
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, (PNA) — A provincial board member of Pangasinan has revealed his intent to file a case for slander and assault against a brother of a town mayor of San Manuel town who uttered to him unsavory words before leaving a polling center at the Juan C. Laya Elementary School in Barangay Guiset Sur in that town at 2:45 p.m. on election day.
Sixth District Board Member Ranjit Ramos Shahani said the unsavory words were uttered to him by Laureano Perez IV, alias ‘Carlo’ who was also in the premises at that time when the board member dropped by to check for himself the situation there.
Shahani is from Asingan, a town south of San Manuel. Both towns are in the sixth district of Pangasinan.
Perez, younger brother of San Manuel Mayor Alain Jerico Perez, reportedly uttered the unsavory words obviously in retaliation for the alleged advice of Shahani to bystanders in that polling precincts “huwag ninyong iboto and hoodlum (don’t vote for hoodlum)”, a statement that may have been heard by Perez.
Shahani denied this, saying he went to the polling place to check reports that reached him that there are hoodlums in the place terrorizing voters.
These reports, he said, were earlier relayed by him to Police Provincial Director Senior Supt. Marlou Chan.
The board member said that after uttering the unsavory words, Perez and his bodyguards attempted to assault him but they were restrained by policemen who were in the area.