MANILA — Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III is ready to file cases against detractors for their “vicious and malicious attacks.”
“Let me address you all, I am left with no recourse but do what is legal and proper under the circumstances,” Bello said in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
“Your penchant of hogging the media must stop. I will see you in court,” he added.
Bello noted that he will talk to his lawyers regarding the matter, adding that he is looking to file the cases in Davao City and Isabela.
“I reiterate the challenge to my detractors. Go to court and sue me if you think you have evidence against me,” the DOLE chief said.
“There seems to be no stopping the vicious and malicious attacks on my person. And these had been exasperating weeks or months since the smear campaign against me started,” he added.
Last week, a complaint was filed against Bello before the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission by an owner of a private recruitment agency.
Bello earlier said he would bravely face the “malicious attacks” against him.
“I am not about to dignify the malicious attacks against me, but the apparent orchestrated campaign to vilify my name and that of the institution I represent necessitated that I confront these issues head on,” he said.
At the same time, the labor chief noted that the “demolition campaign” against him began early this year during the preparation for the launch of the OFW ID.
He claimed that these people, after failing to carry out their initial plan, are now using an issue involving the request of an OFW for the repatriation of an eight-month child from Saudi Arabia, which his detractors claimed a matter he failed to act upon.
“This is a blatant lie. What was being followed up in our office was the pending case of a recruitment agency whose license was cancelled,” Bello said.
Bello was earlier disqualified from the Judicial and Bar Council’s shortlist of candidates for the Ombudsman position due to a syndicated estafa case against him pending at the Department of Justice. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
