COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT

I, REGINE MAGBIRAY, Filipino citizen, of legal age, and with address at

1836 San Pascual St., Malate, Manila, after having been duly sworn to in accordance
with law hereby depose and state:

1. I was the incumbent Officer-In-Charge (“OIC”) Acting Chairwoman

of Barangay 690 Zone 75, District 5 for eleven months, effective on July 2017 until
June 2018

2. At the onset, this instant complaint was filed before this Honorable
Office solely to harass, intimidate and threaten me because of my actions as the OIC
Acting Chairwoman of our Barangay in relation to a pending ejectment case
between the Complainant and Mr. Jovenal T. Fernando. As the OIC Acting
Chairwoman of our Barangay, it was the duty of the Lupon of our Baranagay to try
to mediate and bring together the parties for amicable settlement.

3. During the course of the conciliation proceedings, I caused one of our

Kagawad to serve to the Complainant several summonses requiring her to appear
before the Lupon for conciliation.1 Unfortunately, the Complainant did not appear
before the Lupon despite the service of the summons. Thus, I issued a Certificate to
File Action, dated 29 May 2018,2 in the name of Mr. Jovenal T. Fernando certifying
that no conciliation or settlement has been reached by the parties in accordance
Section 412 (a) of the Local Government Code.3

4. In her Complaint-Affidavit, Complainant alleges that I was feared by

the people under my jurisdiction during my tenure as the OIC Acting Chairwoman
and is well known as rude, burglar and vindictive. Complainant also wrongfully
asserts that I am skilled in harassing and intimidating residents who are known to
be my opponents.

5. Contrary to Complainant’s mistaken and malicious allegations, I

have never harassed anyone in our Barangay. Other than her baseless and malicious
allegations, Complainant has failed to present or attach in her Complaint-Affidavit
any competent and admissible proof to support her allegations. Her malicious
allegations are mere conjectures which should not be given any credence simply
because Complainant has miserably failed to support her erroneous claims.

6. In fact, it was Complainant who spitefully harassed, intimidated and

bullied me, together with my mother, Gina B. Magbiray when Complainant forced
us to leave our house in 1817 San Pascual Street, Malate, Manila sometime in 2016.

1
A copy of the Summons, dated 09 May 2018, is attached hereto as Annex “A”.
2
A copy of the Certificate to File Action, dated 29 May 2018, is attached hereto as Annex
“B”.
3
(a) Pre-condition to Filing of Complaint in Court. - No complaint, petition, action, or
proceeding involving any matter within the authority of the lupon shall be filed or instituted
directly in court or any other government office for adjudication, unless there has been a
confrontation between the parties before the lupon chairman or the pangkat, and that no
conciliation or settlement has been reached as certified by the lupon secretary or pangkat
secretary as attested to by the lupon or pangkat chairman or unless the settlement has been
repudiated by the parties thereto.
During that time, I was living in the said residence as a tenant of Mr. Jovenal T.
Fernando. However, when Complainant arrived from the United States,
Complainant intimidated us and forced us to leave our residence under her mistaken
assumption that she has a right over the said property since according to her, the
property forms part of the conjugal property of her marriage with Mr. Jovenal T.
Fernando.4

7. Many of our neighbors can attest on how Complainant treated us,

bullied us and threatened us so that we will be forced to leave our residence since
the real owner of the property was currently residing in the United States of
America.

8. When Mr. Fernando came back from the United States, Mr. Fernando
filed a complaint for Unlawful Detainer against the Complainant because the
property does not form part of their conjugal property.

9. Moreover, Complainant erroneously and baselessly alleged in her

Complaint-Affidavit that during one of our confrontations, I warned her that I will
include her son in the drug list so that her son can be arrested anytime. Again,
Complainant miserably failed to support her erroneous claims. Other than self-
serving statements, Complainant has not presented even a single proof to
substantiate her claims.

10. On the contrary, no confrontation ever happened on 09 January 2018.

All the allegations of Complainant are mere fabricated lies to threaten and harass
me in order to spite me and because of her ill-will against me.

11. In her Complaint-Affidavit, Complainant, again, without any

evidence or other competent and admissible proof, maliciously alleged that I
accused her of not paying taxes to the government. I do not have any idea about her
taxes and it is not my duty or business to pry into other people’s personal
circumstance. It is highly unbelievable that I will accuse her of not paying taxes
when her obligation to pay taxes does not even concern me.

12. It is true that the amount of One Million Six Hundred Sixty-Seven
Thousand Nine Hundred Seventeen Pesos and Forty-Four Centavos (Php
1,667,917.44) was withdrawn last December 2017 after Mayor Joseph Ejercito
Estrada approved our annual budget. The fact of withdrawal and the allocation of
funds were disclosed during our Barangay Ugnayan and we likewise presented the
bank certifications and the checks issued for each fund in front of our constituents.5
Unfortunately, only the budget for 2017 was allowed to be used because the budget
for 2014-2016 was illegally withdrawn without the approval of the City and no
supporting documents were ever presented by the previous Barangay Chairman
which caused the suspension of our bank account last October 2016.6

4
A copy of the Sinumpaang Salaysay of Ma. Soledad Benito, dated 20 July 2018 is attached
hereto as Annex “C”.
5
A copy of the approved budget for 2017 is attached hereto as Annex “D”.
6
A copy of the Sinumpaang Salaysay of Ma. Virginia Natividad, dated 20 July 2018, is
attached hereto as Annex “E”.
2
 13. Our barangay has ben dysfunctional for years to the point that all the
members of the Kagawad did not receive our honorarium for almost three (3) years.
It was only after Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada’s approval that our one (1) year
honorarium as barangay officials were given to us and all pending projects were
implemented afterwards. When I started as the OIC Acting Chairwoman of our
barangay, there was no proper turn over of equipment, documents. In fact, if not for
the assistance of the Commission on Audit, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and other
government agencies, all our projects for the barangay will not be implemented.

14. Again, contrary to Complainant’s mistaken and erroneous allegations,

the new account number which Complainant stated in her Complaint-Affidavit is
not my personal account but the new account of our barangay. It was the protocol
of the bank to create a new account because the previous account, Account No.
168370002070, was suspended because the Commission on Audit placed it on hold
due to the illegal withdrawals of the previous Barangay Chairman and for failing to
submit the necessary supporting documents.7

15. It was only when I replaced the previous Barangay Chairman and I
became the OIC Acting Chairwoman of our Barangay that the Commission on Audit
and other departments and government agencies granted to lift our suspension so
that the budget for 2017 can be used for the projects and the development of our
barangay.

16. Reiterating, at the pain of being repetitive, Complainant’s malicious

allegations against me are mere conjectures and have not been substantiated by even
a single proof of evidence. All her allegations in her Complaint-Affidavit are mere
baseless and false statements. What is glaringly apparent is that Complainant has
imputed many malicious allegations against me because of her ill-will and spite but
Complainant has miserably failed to present even a single proof to substantiate her
claims.

17. The constituents of our barangay can attest that the accusations of
Complainant are all fabricated lies because I am known in our community as
someone who is calm and is only focused on the development and improvement of
our barangay. I never became abusive in my authority, nor have I discriminated
against anyone. During my tenure as the OIC Acting Chairwoman, we, barangay
officials, persevered to serve our constituents and we became responsible in
rebuilding our barangay and putting it back on tract. As public officials, we know
that public interest is our priority and everything we did as barangay officials was
geared towards our barangay’s development and improvement.8
18. Lastly, Complainant’s spiteful accusation that the Zumba class that
our barangay held beside her house was a display of arrogance and considered as
harassment is entirely false. The activity was requested by the members of our
barangay. Before the day of the event, all the people from our barangay received an
invitation to the said event. In fact, I even invited the Complainant to join us while
she was recording our preparation.9
7
A copy of the Notice of Disallowance from the Commission on Audit and the Lift of
Suspension is attached hereto as Annex “F” and “G”, respectively.
8
A copy of the Sinumpaang Salaysay of Leah S. Castro, dated 20 July 2018, is attached
hereto as Annex “H”.
9
A copy of the Sinumpaang Salaysay of James Quirante, dated 20 July 2018, is attached
hereto as Annex “I”.
3
 19. Furthermore, the event was held at 8:00 a.m. not 6:00 a.m. contrary to
the claims of Complainant and only lasted an hour. Complainant’s erroneous claim
that the Barangay has its own coliseum or public place where they can hold their
activities is again false. Our barangay is only a small barangay and we do not have
any coliseum nor a public place where we can hold our activities. We just wanted
to offer our constituents some activities which they never experience before.

20. As advised by my counsel, the well-entrenched principle in our

jurisdiction is that “he who alleges must prove his case.”10

21. Also, the Supreme Court explained in the case of Honorable

Ombudsman Simeon V. Marcelo v. Leopoldo F. Bungbung,11 that “the fundamental
rule in administrative cases that the complainant has the burden of proving, by
substantial evidence, the allegations in his complaint.”12

22. Substantial evidence was defined in the case of Tapiador v. Office of

the Ombudsman,13 “Substantial evidence, which is more than a mere scintilla
but is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to
support a conclusion, would suffice to hold one administratively liable. The
standard of substantial evidence is satisfied when there is reasonable ground to
believe that respondent is responsible for the misconduct complained of, even if
such evidence might not be overwhelming or even preponderant.”

23. In the instant case, Complainant has miserably failed to present any
competent and admissible proof to substantiate her exorbitant and baseless claims.
Other than her self-serving statements which are obviously fabricated lies,
Complainant has failed to submit or attach in her Complaint-Affidavit any relevant
evidence which can support her malicious allegations.

24. Moreover, the Section 3 Rule III of Administrative Order No. 07, or
the Rules of Procedure of the Office of the Ombudsman, explains how an
administrative case may be initiated, thus:

“Section 3. How initiated. – An administrative case may be

initiated by a written complaint under oath accompanied by
affidavits of witnesses and other evidence in support of the
charge.”

25. In this case, however, Complainant has failed to present any affidavits
or other evidence supporting her malicious allegations against me other than her
self-serving, unsubstantiated, and uncorroborated statements in order to harass and
intimidate me because of her ill-will against me.

26. Applying the foregoing herein, the Complaint-Affidavit of

Complainant must be dismissed for having so sufficient cause to warrant further
proceedings due to utter lack of basis considering that Complainant has failed to
submit any evidence to support her allegations.

10
G.R. No. 183918, January 15, 2014.
11
G.R. No. 175201, April 23, 2008.
12
Id.
13
429 Phil. 47, 54 (2002)
4
 27. I am executing this affidavit to attest to the truth of the foregoing facts,
and to show that based on the competent and credible evidence on record, I did not
violate R.A. 3019, and for whatever legal purpose it may serve.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand this 20th day of July

2018 at the City of Manila.

REGINE MAGBIRAY
Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 20th day of July 2018 at

____________________ affiant exhibiting competent proof of her identity as
follows: _______________________________.

Doc. No. ____;

Page No. ____;
Book No. ____;
Series of 2018.