|
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Councilor 'arrests' pay park firm head
By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
BAGUIO CITY -- Jadewell president Rogelio Tan was arrested on alleged direct assault and usurpation of authority charges but freed after he posted bail.
Sun.Star Network Online's 12th Asean Summit Watch
Councilor Jose Molintas and his companions put the pay parking firm official under "citizen's arrest" in his own office along Harrison Road on Tuesday morning after a heated argument and a brief scuffle.
Lawyer Galo Reyes, who came to Tan's rescue, said "there are certain requisites for a citizen's arrest to be made and I don't think that those requisites were satisfied (because) no crime has been, was being, or was about to be committed (then)."
Molintas said he noticed that there were still pay parking attendants along the city's main thoroughfares despite the repeal of the ordinance allowing Jadewell to operate in the city so he went to Melvin Jones grandstand at 10:30 a.m. to investigate.
There, he met lawyer George Dumawing, who showed him a receipt for pay parking payment issued on that day by a Jadewell attendant.
The councilor and Dumawing then proceeded to the Jadewell office and saw Tan there. They asked him why his attendants were still continuing to collect parking fees.
In response, Tan showed the councilor copies of the two injunctions issued by the Supreme Court (SC) early this year, which ordered a status quo on Jadewell's operations.
"He (Tan) started telling us that being a lawyer and a councilor, we should be aware. So I told him if he could show me an order, I would respect that SC decision and when I went over the documents he showed me, I told him to point out to me the paragraph that says that I cannot repeal the ordinance," Molintas said.
The councilor added that Tan accused him of agitating people not to pay parking fees and Molintas said he countered by saying that there is no law supporting Jadewell's operations.
The argument heated up and it was at that time, said Molintas, that he and Dumawing decided to apply the rule on citizen's arrest and both of them reportedly grabbed Tan and announced that the Jadewell official is being apprehended.
In the course of the supposed arrest, Molintas and Tan scuffled with each other for several minutes, while their respective supporters tried to pull them apart.
Molintas claimed he was physically injured in the scuffle while Tan said his expensive wristwatch was almost removed.
Tan's lawyer, however, questioned the councilor's actuations, saying he could not be both a common citizen and a person in authority.
"He cannot even consider himself to be a person in authority, which is reserved for those in the executive branch of government, because he is from the legislative branch and has no legal jurisdiction here," Reyes said.
Tan later agreed to follow Molintas's group to Station 7 of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) for the filing of charges but upon arrival there, the Jadewell president decided not to push through with the filing of any countercharge against Molintas and the councilor's group upon the advice of Reyes and another lawyer, Romeo Lopez.
"What happened was not the sentiment of the city's silent majority but only of a loud minority because the people of Baguio are very intelligent and know a lot better than to meddle in a case that is still awaiting the decision of the SC. The people of Baguio are law-abiding and peace-loving citizens, and what these few agitators are doing is a big slap on the people's face," Tan claimed.
Pending the results of a preliminary investigation, Tan posted bail of P12,000. (Sun.Star Baguio/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (December 6, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Convicted US marine 'in a daze', weeps over fate