Thursday, November 01, 2007 Court to Lapu City: Give Pelaez a break
LAPU-LAPU City businessman Efrain Pelaez Jr. now has protection from any attempt by the City Government to demolish his Marina Mall and two other properties, at least while a lawsuit is pending.
Judge Toribio Quiwag issued last Saturday a writ of preliminary injunction that will keep City Hall from enforcing demolition orders against Pelaez’s properties until the court resolves the case.
He also ordered Pelaez’s Coralpoint Properties to submit a bond of P200,000, which will take care of damages in case the court decides in favor of City Hall.
“The sole objective of preliminary injunction is to preserve the status quo until the merits of the case can be heard fully,” the judge said in his order.
Now, the court has to decide whose claim is valid.
Pelaez has said he was issued permits by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), while the Lapu-Lapu City officials countered that he should have obtained building permits and other papers from the Office of the Building Official.
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City Attorney Vincent Joseph Lim said the preliminary injunction should not have been granted because Pelaez “has no right to be protected.”
He said he is reviewing the order for the possible filing of a motion for reconsideration.
Judge Quiwag pointed out in his order that two requisites must be in place for a preliminary injunction to be issued: the existence of a right to be protected; and the fact that a specific action violates that right. (That specific action is what the plaintiff wants the court to stop through the injunction.)
The court issued last Oct. 11 a temporary restraining order (TRO) in favor of Pelaez, after Lim issued three notices of demolition against him.
These notices were for the Marina Mall in Barangay Pusok, the Mactan Southgate Properties in Barangay Basak and Coralpoint’s riprapping project in Barangay Punta Engaño.
City Hall shut down the Marina Mall last Oct. 19, with officials arguing that the TRO covered only the demolition, but not closure. The mall reopened after nine hours, with Peza’s intervention.
In the latest order, Judge Quiwag said: “While a clear showing of a right is necessary, its existence need not be conclusively established. In fact, the evidence required to justify the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction need not be conclusive or complete.”
The evidence only needs to “give the court an idea of the justification for the preliminary injunction, pending decision of the case on the merits.”
Pelaez heads the Mactan Island Chamber of Commerce Inc., some of whose members have complained they were asked for bribes when applying for permits from City Hall.
Pelaez has also asked the ombudsman to investigate Mayor Arturo Radaza and other City Hall officials, over what he suspected was the overpriced purchase of computers for the public schools. (AIV)
