THE Ferrers are seeking P5 million worth of damages against a village captain in Bacolod City who implicated them in the illegal drug trade in Negros Occidental.
Fourth District Representative Juliet Ferrer and husband former congressman Jeffrey Ferrer subscribed their joint complaint affidavit before Prosecutor Fernand Castro yesterday at the Hall of Justice in Bacolod City.
Their counsel, lawyer Arnel Lapore, said the spouses are seeking civil damages against Barangay 35 village chief Manuel “Maui” Huelar Jr., who is now detained at the Metro Bacolod District Jail-Male Dorm Annex in Barangay Handumanan after he was arrested in November last year for possession of illegal drugs.
Huelar supposedly executed an affidavit while in prison that linked the province’s top leaders, along with their kin, and other politicians to illegal drugs.
Among those he mentioned were Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.
Both the governor and vice governor, along with the Ferrers, had vehemently denied the accusations of Huelar.
Lapore said two counts of libel and one count of perjury will be filed against Huelar within the week.
The former lawmaker had earlier called Huelar’s allegations as nonsense, fabricated, and politically-motivated.
Ferrer said that almost all of the villages in La Carlota City were already declared by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency as “drug-free.”
Marañon had also slammed Huelar for fabricating stories, adding that he doesn’t know the barangay leader.
The governor had also mulled filing a libel case against Huelar.
Lacson also challenged the village captain to show evidence that he is a “rabid drug user.” The vice governor underwent a drug test, and tested negative for the illegal substance.
They all believed that someone is behind Huelar.
In Huelar’s affidavit, he said that after being detained for almost a year and being away from his family and “having no means to support them, he realized he “needs to do something” to contribute to the anti-drug campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I need to do this in order that no father like me will ever suffer the same fate as I have now, or more persons may become victims of drug abuse due to the accessibility and availability of illegal drugs,” he said.
While he maintained his innocence in the drug charges filed against him, Huelar admitted that he used drugs before.
He said it is not too late for him to reform and make amends by helping the government eliminate the drug problem, by identifying those involved in the illegal drug trade.
He also said that he supported the statement of Negros Island top drug suspect Ricky Serenio, who also implicated politicians and law enforcers in the illegal drug trade in the province.