Dauis vice mayor Marietta Sumaylo and Liga ng mga Barangay-Dauis chapter president Josever Sumaylo are bent on filing charges against Dauis mayor Roman “Amoi” Bullen after the latter made a sizzling allegation during his speech at the Dauis municipal hall grounds.
In his speech on Oct. 10, 2022 following his first 100 days in office, Bullen openly expressed his declaration alleging that the Sumaylos are involved in the drug trade.
The Dauis mayor, in the his speech, mentioned the names of Marietta and Josever Sumaylo together with a certain Ryan Sigue who died in 2019.
In a telephone interview, Josever Sumaylo said he will be filing cases against Bullen for spreading false information against him and his wife.
He is still uncertain which charges to file as his decision will depend on the judgement of his lawyers.
Josever said that his wife, vice mayor Miriam, will also file cases against Bullen separately.
“Bali duha ka tawo ang mokiha niya,” Josever Sumaylo told The Bohol Tribune.
Josever Sumaylo said he is not afraid of locking horns with the Dauis mayor now that he is bent on filing cases against the mayor.
“Nganong mahadlok ko niya nga akoy naa sa sakto. Siya ang angay mabalaka kay ang burden of proof naa niya,” the Liga ng mga Barangay-Dauis chapter president said.
In a radio interview, Marrieta Sumaylo said that she is also bent on filing charges against the Dauis mayor following the allegations that the couple is involved with illegal drug trade.
Marietta Sumaylo said the allegations floated by Bullen are baseless and untrue.
She said that what the mayor did is a demolition job aimed to tarnish the couple’s reputation.
The vice mayor also said that since 2012, there have been no cases filed against them (the Sumaylo couple) due to drugs and they have been cleared of any involvement with drug activities by several law enforcement agencies, such as the Philippine National Police, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
“Ako ug akong bana nga si Josever Sumaylo, nag process na sa among legal nga complaint against ni Mayor Bullen sa iyang pag allegar nako, pagpasangil nato, ug pagpakauwaw nato, dili lang kita kun dili tibook pamilya, tibuok Dauis, iya kong gipakauwawan,” Marietta Sumaylo said.
She said that getting involved in illegal drugs never crossed her mind and she has been engaging in legal forms of livelihood. The Dauis couple is involved in several business enterprises including a lending firm.
The vice mayor said, further, that she has no idea why Mayor Bullen made a bold allegation against the couple.
Josever Sumaylo said, “Supposedly, [si] mayor mo report [unta] sa iyang 100 days in office. Unya wala man sya ikareport kay wala [man] sya’y nahimo pa so gusto sya nga naay impact ang report mao to ang iyang ge report. Mao na ang akong basa.”
MAYOR’S REACTION
In a news report from dyTR, it was said that Mayor Bullen refused to comment on the possible legal move of the Sumaylos against him.
He added that he will just wait for the complaint to be served and said, further, that he is ready to face any charges to be filed against him by the Sumaylo couple.
BACKGROUND
During his speech at the Municipal Hall grounds, Mayor Bullen unleashed allegations against the couple and Sigue.
In his speech, Bullen mentioned the Sumaylos and Sigue as persons included in a list of supposed druglords in Bohol, a list which was allegedly presented to former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Ang nakalista didto mao ni tandaan ninyo mga kaigsoonan, mga kinsa pa naminaw diha. Sa Dauis, Marietta T. Sumaylo, Josever D. Sumaylo, Ryan Sigue. Mao nay nasulat, sa ubang lugar dili nako musulti. Ako mismo nakakita pod ko. Mao nay tinood mga kaigsoonan ko,” the mayor said in his speech.
Observers asked what Bullen’s basis is to make such bold allegations against the Sumaylo couple who is the mayor’s chief political adversary. To remember, Josever Sumaylo ran for mayor in the 2022 mayoralty elections but lost to Bullen.
Josever Sumaylo lost even if he led in some unofficial pre-election surveys and was expected to succeed Marietta Sumaylo as the local chief executive of the said town.
On the other hand, Marietta Sumaylo managed to win as Dauis vice mayor as she is no longer eligible to run for a fourth consecutive term. She first won as mayor in 2013 and led Dauis for 9 years until 2022.
A TREND?
It seems that conflicts between political camps are becoming a trend.
The political bickerings reaching the courts are something not unique to Bohol.
There are warring political camps elsewhere engaged in legal battles.
In Baguio City, City Councilor Mariq Mylen Victoria Yaranon filed slander and libel raps against Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong.
The councilor is a known personality belonging to Magalong’s political rival, according to reports.