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Friday, May 19, 2006
Malilong: Court of Appeals decision
By Frank Malilong Jr.
The Other Side
I respect Cebu City legal officer Rudy Golez, who was my classmate in law school and roommate when we reviewed for the bar examinations. He is one of the few remaining decent people in public service. He should, however, know when a fight has been lost and how to advise his client to let go.
It is not true that the Court of Appeals did not decide the main issues raised in Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s petition to abolish Talisay City. In fact, a reading of the well-crafted decision penned by Justice Apolinario D. Bruselas Jr. will readily show that the Court did inquire into the merits of the petition but found it sadly wanting. The Court’s puzzlement as to the possible motive for the four-year delay in filing the petition was merely an aside.
Osmeña’s petition raised two issues: first, that Talisay did not meet the minimum requirements to become a city; and second, that the creation of Talisay City has prejudiced the share of Cebu City in the internal revenue allotment.
On the first issue, the Court dismissed Osmeña’s claim and declared that Talisay had complied with all the requisites for city-hood, citing the certifications issued by the appropriate government agencies. Anyone who claims that a law such as the one that created Talisay City has not passed through regular processes “has the burden of proving his allegations clearly and unmistakably.” The petitioner miserably failed to do this, it said.
As to the allegations of prejudice, the Court dismissed them as not only conjectural but also “highly speculative and uncertain and not backed by any persuasive proof.” At most, what exists, said the Court was a “general grievance.”
Rep. Eduardo R. Gullas was right in hailing the Court decision as a “huge victory for all Talisaynons” but only partly. Everybody who reads the paper or listens to the radio knows the motive for the filing of the petition. It was Talisay that was made the defendant but the real target was Eddiegul. In that sense, the judgment was a personal vindication for him, too.
I can’t blame Talisay City legal officer Aurora Econg if she is grinning from ear to ear these days. Next to Eddiegul, my former Math professor was the most visible target on the crosshair of Cebu City’s guns. It was Ma`am Auring who did much of the legal legwork although she enjoyed the support of two brilliant legal minds in Teodoro Almase and Romulo Senining, both law professors.
The Cebu City legal officer said that they are filing a motion for reconsideration. I suggest that they review not only the case but also the political implications as well before doing that.
Every legal practitioner knows how difficult it is to convince a judge, much less, three justices that they were wrong. As to the political ramifications, ask Gabby Leyson.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 19, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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