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Saturday, February 04, 2006
Judge angered by claim he was ex-lawyer of NQ
By Karlon N. Rama & Jujemay G. Awit
Sun.Star Staff Reporters
Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Ireneo Gako yesterday ordered three Manila-based lawyers thrown behind bars for contempt, because they “sneered” at the court with “words dripping with arrogance, sarcasm and disdain.”
Gako, though, lifted the jail order in another ruling released minutes before the court closed at 5 p.m. yesterday.
Had it not been recalled, the three laywers would have spent three nights at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center, as the jail order was non-bailable.
Lawyers Paris Real, Emmanuel Brotarlo and Sherwin Real, representing Wesy Quisumbing, drew the judge’s ire when they accused Gako of once being a lawyer of Transfarm Daewoo.
The accusation was contained in a pleading dated Jan. 2, 2006. The pleading asked for Gako’s inhibition from the civil suit between Wesy and her businessman-father Norberto Quisumbing Jr., who owned Transfarm.
According to the lawyers, Gako’s connection with the elder Quisumbing practically insures their client of a lopsided legal battle, in favor of her father.
“Because the accusatory pleading is a blatant lie, there is a clear case of contempt of court. Co-contemnors must be made to repair the damage their contumacious lie has done. Hence, this contempt order,” Gako said.
“Contemnors will therefore be incarcerated until they file an unambiguous written apology to the court in a manner that will suffice by its humility and contrition, to repair the damage done to the court’s dignity,” he said.
In an interview with reporters, Gako said he couldn’t have served as lawyer of Transfarm because he never practiced law, a fact that fellow judges and some Cebu-based lawyers confirmed.
Gako began public service as a member of the Philippine Constabulary and transferred to the Judge Advocate General Office when he became a lawyer. He then moved to the justice department as City Prosecutor of Lapu-Lapu, before he became an RTC judge.
Although he lifted the order, he still wants the three to publish a written apology to the court in seven days in Sun.Star Cebu and two other English dailies or the court “will re-commit them to prison.”
But before the recall, the lawyers already filed an urgent petition for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus before the Court of Appeals (CA).
They asked that Gako’s contempt ruling be restrained and that the appellate court mandate Gako to inhibit himself from hearing the case, citing “his obvious anger.”
Gako’s order, they said, was “not only uncalled for but rather shows the disgust of the presiding respondent judge upon the petitioners.”
“If he truly believed that the matters which were touched upon in the motion for inhibition were really false, then he should have done so in an order denying the same and not issue a direct contempt order... at the first opportunity and without due process of law and on a Friday at that,” the lawyers said.
They also said they were set-up because yesterday’s hearing was not supposed to be for the motion for inhibition but a preliminary conference to discuss a possible out-of-court settlement between the father and daughter.
After having been ordered jailed, the lawyers went to RTC Executive Judge Simeon Dumdum and asked to be released on his recognizance.
Dumdum denied it, saying it was not within his authority as executive judge and instead suggested that they go to the Court of Appeals.
They also cited the issue of bail.
“It is a violation of due process. I never came across a contempt order that is not bailable,” Paris said.
The three, escorted by Gako’ sheriff, then went to the CA where they were advised to write their petition.
In an interview outside the CA building, Paris Real said the motion for inhibition was written in good faith and was based on the information given to them by Wesy.
“If the aforesaid information turned out to be false, that cannot serve as basis for the immediate incarceration of the petitioners without bail as that was merely an honest error that was not directed upon the dignity and honor of the respondent judge,” their CA petition meanwhile read.
The nine-page motion for inhibition stemmed from Gako’s Dec. 16, 2005 order that granted the elder Norberto’s motion to stop Wesy from giving interviews to the media.
The gag order stopped network giant ABS-CBN from airing on television an exclusive interview that talk show host Boy Abunda had with Wesy last year.
In that interview, Wesy would reportedly reveal why she filed a string of civil cases against her father and other family members, and how she was sacked from her post as executive Officer of the Norkis Group, allegedly after her sex-change.
Paris said Gako’s order is invalid because courts do not have jurisdiction over entities that are non-parties to a case they are handling. Also, courts only have authority over those based within its territorial jurisdiction, Paris said.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 4, 2006 issue)
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