Guam - On Tuesday Senator Ben Pangelinan took aim against the Guam Memorial Hospital's Board of Trustees, particularly chairman Lee Webber and Governor Eddie Calvo, ultimately blaming them for what he called "unjust" action against TakeCare Insurance. However today, Webber through his legal counsel responded, saying the statements made are defamatory and may result in legal action.

Senator Pangelinan has been very vocal about the actions taken by the GMH trustees regarding its cancellation of the TakeCare contract earlier this year, calling it "unnecessary and unwarranted." And while the island's chief executive has called the senator's statement's "mischievous", the chairman is now responding saying the statements are false and wants an apology.

Webber's attorney, Peter Sgro, says public officials have a high fiduciary responsibility to the community and one of those is to ensure that any statement they make is true. "In this case, Senator Pangelinan made absolutely no attempts to ensure that the statements he made were true. He basically, we consider that the statements that he made were defamatory," he told KUAM News.

Sgro says the statements made in a media release by Senator Pangelinan's office that blamed the GMH Board of Trustees, Webber and Governor Calvo for GMH's cancellation of the TakeCare contract earlier this year, which ultimately was rescinded. He further alleged the board's action fell "suspiciously" during the health insurance proposal submission period with the federal government and alleges Webber's participation in a Guam Visitors Bureau- and Guam Economic Development Authority-sponsored trip to Russia seems "a clear case of political payback."

It's that very statement that has Sgro saying all options are being considered against Pangelinan, including legal action. He explained, "When you read it in its context, it's as if Mr. Webber in his capacity as chairman of the GMH board chair that he acted in order to get a payback for something, which implies a criminal act and that is totally false and we're going to be able to prove it."

Chairman of the Legislative Committee on Health, Senator Dennis Rodriguez Jr. meanwhile, was heavily involved with the TakeCare negotiations and is further reviewing the recent OPA supplemental audit that Senator Pangelinan makes reference to in his statements. Although he wouldn't comment on Senator Pangelinan's statement he did agree that the cancellation was uncalled for as he believes the board's actions were acted upon through inaccurate information.

"So it caused unnecessary tension in the community and we want to make sure it doesn't happen again," he stated.

Sgro believes Pangelinan is misinformed on the TakeCare situation because his statements took his client by surprise. "The pattern of behavior of him is he tends to lose control over his emotions to the point where he starts to blame other people for everything," he said. "I would encourage Senator Pangelinan to issue an apology, because I think he knows that he really violated the laws." 

Senator Pangelinan is off-island and KUAM's calls and e-mails have yet to receive a response for comment. Sgro meanwhile says neither he nor his client plan on speaking with Senator Pangelinan's office unless legal counsel is present. As to whether Pangelinan's statements are immune due to Guam's Anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) law, Sgro says it doesn't apply, as the policy only protects candidates running for elections - but there are limitations of when you can assert the SLAPP law.

He says Webber made no misrepresentations about the senator and only discovered Pangelinan's statements through the press release.