MANILA, JANUARY 28, 2013 – Campaigns & Grey group chairperson Yolanda Ong has filed a counterclaim January 17 against Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, slapping him with a charge worth P88 million, making her original lawsuit seem paltry at P31 million.
Ong’s damage fee covers P30 million in moral charges, P58 million in exemplary damages, and P1 million in attorney’s fees.
Ong told Rappler.com that she did not cause Enrile any damage, adding that his reputation is far from the “spotless or untarnished” one that he claims.
Turning the tables, Ong said that it is Enrile’s lawsuit that caused her moral and exemplary damages for violating her freedom of speech based on unfounded claims.
If the court favors Ong, she said she will donate the money to the victims to the Marcos dictatorship.
The civil case is pending before Branch 118 of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court.
The lawsuit battle was sparked in December 2012 when the senate president brought the court’s attention to Ong’s allegedly libelous column published in The Philippine Star, “Like Father, Like Son”. In the article, Ong was said to characterize Enrile as liar, fraud, and manipulator. Furthermore, Enrile’s son Juan Castañer Ponce Enrile, Jr is running for a seat in the senate in the May 2013 elections.
