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Friday, April 28, 2006
Judge sued for contempt
By Rimaliza Opiña and Ernie N. Olson Jr.
THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge who recently issued a suspension on the operation of Jadewell Parking Systems Corporation was sued yesterday for alleged contempt of the Supreme Court (SC).
In the process, Jadewell also filed a petition before the SC for the nullification of the writ of preliminary injunction signed by RTC Branch 3 presiding Judge Fernando Vil Pamintuan last April 19.
The SC was also asked that it order Pamintuan to cease and desist from further hearing the civil case filed by businessman Benedicto Balajadia, lawyer Paterno Aquino, Richard Laberinto, Roland Abellera, Fernando Sangalang, Allan Atos and Angelito Sangalang against Jadewell and the Baguio City Government, represented by Mayor Braulio Yaranon.
Pamintuan, in the meantime, brushed aside Jadewell?s move. In an interview with reporters from a local television station, he said his issuance of the injunction underwent a thorough examination, stressing that what he did "is within his functions as a judge."
"It is natural for them to seek remedy before the higher court," he said.
Jadewell general manager Norma Tan, meanwhile, alleged however that this may be the result of a conspiracy between Balajadia’s group and the mayor.
"Why does it appear that the mayor is the winner, when he is also a respondent in this case," Tan asked, as she alleged that because of the observed boom in the city’s pay parking industry, some people are reportedly out to take over their business.
She however vowed that only if the City Government is willing to reimburse the amount they have invested, including its projected income in the next six years, they would be willing to leave Baguio and conduct business elsewhere.
In issuing the injunction, Jadewell alleged that Pamintuan gravely abused his discretion and acted in a manner in excess or lack of jurisdiction when he did not consider the previous rulings of RTC Branches 7 and 61, which both upheld the validity of Ordinance 003-2000 or the pay parking ordinance.
In a press briefing yesterday afternoon, lawyer Emiliano Gayo, counsel for Jadewell, explained that the injunction is inconsistent with the ruling of the SC issued on April 20 last year, which ordered Yaranon to open the streets and parking lots where Jadewell operates, pending its resolution on the appeal of the city government. The former City Council sought a reversal of previous rulings of the lower courts, but Gayo explained that the rescission of Jadewell’s contract was invalid at that time.
The same ruling found Yaranon, guilty for direct and indirect contempt, and ordered him to pay a fine of P10,000, unless he wanted to be arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.
"What cannot be done directly, cannot also be done indirectly," Gayo said, implying that the recently issued injunction by Pamintuan is a defiance of the SC’s order dated April 20 last year. "The RTC is inferior to the SC. This is a defiance of an existing and outstanding order of the SC," Gayo declared, adding that Pamintuan "made a complete turnaround of 360 degrees" when he issued the assailed injunction.
This resulted, after Gayo revealed that Pamintuan denied the earlier petition of Balajadia’s group for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO).
"When the respondent judge ordered the issuance of the writ of preliminary injunction, he violated all norms of judicial conduct required of him as an RTC judge," a portion of the 42-page petition for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus states.
"The complaint shows fairly that that private respondents went to court because they were required to pay parking fees. It would appear therefore that the constitutionality or lack of it is merely an incident to the issue of whether or not the private respondent should pay parking fees for the spaces where they had parked their cars (for free in previous years). There was absolutely no reason for the constitutional issue to be reached; hence it was a clear and grave abuse of discretion for the respondent judge to have set himself to hear the case," the petition for certiorari further stated.
Named as respondents in the petition for certiorari were Pamintuan, Yaranon, Balajadia and other members of his group.
Both copies of the petition for certiorari and contempt were submitted to the SC Baguio yesterday morning.
Jadewell president Rogelio Tan, in the meantime, said aside from the financial losses their company is now incurring, some 50 employees with over 250 dependents are jobless at present. "They have resorted to washing cars and doing other odd jobs as a consequence of this," he said.
Jadewell stopped its operations last Saturday. An estimated P100,000 daily is lost by the parking firm in terms of revenue, Tan revealed. "However, since (lawyer) Aquino alleged that we are collecting (a larger amount of) P200,000 daily, we will hold him (and his group) liable for this amount in losses," he continued, adding that a suit for damages may soon follow.
This, in spite of the sharing scheme between Jadewell and the City Government, where Jadewell gets 80 percent and the City gets 20 percent of the gross, respectively. "Some people do not seem to understand that in this sharing scheme, the city government gets a net profit, while we still have to pay for the salaries of our personnel, public utilities and taxes from the 80 percent gross we derive," he added.
"But, over and above, even if we are closed down, as what happened to us for several months last year when the mayor physically closed down our operations, we have continuously been paying the City Government with a fixed minimum amount of almost P90,000 monthly," he revealed.
He said aside from already giving the City Government a share of about P9 million in cash for their operations in the past years, they have also spent an amount of almost P28 million to Baguio in terms of social and economic development.
"It’s not just about the enormous financial loss, but what is more devastating is the emotional and debilitating anxiety and anguish that this has brought us. Was it wrong that, aside from this being our business, we just wanted to help instill parking discipline in this city?" Tan said.
(April 28, 2006 issue)
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