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Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Tom-Alvin face-off in court doesn’t push through
An expected court meeting between political rivals Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and former mayor Alvin Garcia did not materialize yesterday.
Garcia earlier manifested that he intended to call Osmeña to the stand as a hostile witness in the case filed by Osmeña’s wife Margot.
But Garcia failed to attend yesterday’s hearing and his co-counsel Lelani Resoor told the court that she is not keen on putting Osmeña on the stand.
Margot filed a case of grave threats against Jonah John Rodriguez for allegedly sending her nasty text messages at the height of the 2001 elections where Osmeña and Garcia faced off.
Rodriguez was affiliated with the Kugi, Uswag Sugbo (Kusug), the political party of Garcia, who is the suspect’s lead defense counsel. Margot is represented by lawyers Sisinio Andales and Ramon Teleron.
The case, though, was stalled when Rodriguez was late for the scheduled 8:30 a.m. hearing at the sala of Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCC) Judge Oscar Andrino of Branch 5.
The judge ordered for the issuance of a bench order against Rodriguez, thinking that he would not appear in court anymore.
Tomas and Margot were already in court as early as 8 a.m.
Recess
Andrino ordered a short recess to give defense lawyer Resoor time to contact his client. The judge also excused the mayor and the first lady from the court after Resoor manifested that she will not be presenting Tomas.
When Rodriguez appeared in court past 9 a.m., Andrino recalled the bench warrant.
But the judge reminded the accused against tardiness, saying, “When the schedule says 8:30, that means 8:30.”
Reset
The defense failed to present its evidence yesterday with Resoor asking for another resetting to assess the records of the case considering that lawyer Kit Enriquez used to handle the defense.
“This will be the last resetting, failure to present evidence would mean that the defense has waived its right to present evidence and the case will be deemed submitted for decision,” warned the judge.
He set the defense’s turn to present its evidence on May 5.
Andrino also asked why Garcia was not around when he still has not withdrawn as Rodriguez’s lead counsel.
According to Rodriguez, Garcia recently had an eye operation. But this was not good enough for Andrino, who ordered Garcia to explain his absence in court.
A court settlement may be in the offing, with Andrino advising both parties to discuss the matter outside the court. (JGA)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 21, 2006 issue)
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