MCB answers (3)

The LDS’s valuation was in the year 2021, it is updated, and its valuation is nearly five-fold than that of Marawi City. Thus, the LDS valuation was adopted for it was beneficial to the valuation of damaged or destroyed properties of claimants while Marawi City’s 2011 valuation was grossly unconscionably lower and prejudicial to the claimants.

During that meeting, where Mr. Lanto was present, the MCB explained why the LDS valuation was adopted. He himself said that it was “preposterous” to apply the valuation of Marawi, adding that “so you were compelled to adopt the LDS valuation?” To which MCB answered in the affirmative. Following our meeting, he still insisted on the adoption of Marawi City’s valuation instead of the LDS.

“What gives, MCB (2)” (April 16, 2024):

In his third article, DAILY TRIBUNE escalated its language. From falsity to libelous words, and now a threat of great violence and incendiary language.

Atty. Lanto, quoting a chat post, wrote: “The plan once pursued [by MCB] is like an explosive bomb that will create problems instead of solving them. This ignominy adds to the sad situation of the Maranao who lost precious lives, livelihood, and dwellings for the last seven years, like a ticking bomb.”

The tone of his language threatening — “explosive bomb” and “ticking bomb” — is indistinguishable from violent extremist language that caused the destruction of Marawi City and an open threat to the officials of the MCB who are deciding on pending cases. These are incendiary language that incite violence. And these words are printed in your paper and digital copy.

For the DAILY TRIBUNE to publish a threat of terroristic violence against a duly constituted government agency is condemnable. Giving free space to this inflammatory words espoused by Atty. Lanto is not free speech. Words of violence which are the language of the violent extremists that destroyed Marawi City have no place in our country.

This is utter insensitivity on the DAILY TRIBUNE considering that MCB was created precisely because of the violence brought to it by the violent extremists. And to publish — “explosive bomb” and “ticking bomb” rubbed insult on the victims of the Marawi Siege.

Terrorist language has no place in our civilized world, and their words have no place in our language, your newspaper included. This threat of violence against a government institution such as the MCB in the performance of its mandated function is deplorable.

We are surprised at how your newspaper is utilized as a platform of a columnist who admitted to having a pending case with the MCB and who wrote these series of articles to pressure and influence our decision-making as an independent quasi-judicial body to favor and yield to Atty. Lanto’s proposition, which to us is illegal.

To be clear, we are not a political office. The MCB is composed by nine (9) quasi-justices to objectively and independently apply the law without any interference and influence so that we can fairly, based on our individual conscience, decide on individual cases, including the case of Atty. Lanto. The MCB is a quasi-court. Our final decision is appealable to the Court of Appeals, and which can be later reviewed later by the Supreme Court. That is the remedy provided by law if there is an error of judgment.

The DAILY TRIBUNE is unduly interfering and influencing the exercise of MCB’s quasi-judicial functions. Pressing and influencing the MCB to decide based on the application of law asserted by Atty. Lanto is for us inapplicable. Such libelous and incendiary language is uncalled for. But a threat of violence is too much — weaponizing your paper against the MCB as a tool for Atty. Lanto, who has pending case before the MCB, to influence how we decide our cases that involve his pending case.

We stress that Atty. Lanto, as a lawyer, knows there is a conflict of interest being a claimant himself with us. He also knows that his case is sub judice where the law does not allow a litigant to discuss merits of the issue that is the subject of a pending case of which he is a party. He was recently appointed to a high political office as Administrator of Marawi City and being a political official, he should refrain from unduly influencing a quasi-judicial body through public pressure brought about by his articles.

Atty. Lanto, further, wrote libelous remarks quoting from the same post that the “MCB leadership and President BBM to stop the plan to expose the MCB and our leaders to corruption” and that there is “PALAKASAN” without presenting any factual basis except the hearsay post on a chat.

Adding libelous statements are his imputation of “ignominy,” “insidious design,” and “brazen overstep or overstretch” attributed to MCB. These are actionable actual malicious imputations against the officials of the MCB because they are a reckless disregard of the truth.

(To be continued)