Wednesday, September 28, 2005 (Philippines)

Rtc Judge Jesus de la Peña, the Supreme Court says, issued an “unjust judgment” directing a bank to pay P16 million in damages to a litigant, an Aznar scion. De la Peña, who presides over RTC Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu City, “did not even conduct hearings before issuing the ruling in November 1998.” (Sun.star file photo) The Cebu City Government finally got the special patent for the South Reclamation Project (SRP), which Environment Secretary Michael Defensor signed last week. This was revealed yesterday by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 technical director for land management Diana Apistar, who said the special patent covers only seven lots. Cebu City applied for special patent covering 15 parcels of land at the 295-hectare SRP, but the DENR did not allow the inclusion of those occupied by the South Coastal Road, those with approved land surveys and the unfilled Pond A. [full story]