THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 53 by Judge Pepito Gellada ordered Wednesday both plaintiff and defendants to submit their respective memorandum within 72 hours.
Plaintiff lawyer Reynaldo Villamor and defendants City Mayor Evelio Leonardia and others, required to submit memorandum relative to the temporary restraining order (TRO) filed on the P250 million-loan entered between the City Government and the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB).
The case's hearing was attended by the complainant's legal counsel lawyer Adelaida Rendon, legal counsels of the city officials led by City Legal Officer lawyer Joselito Bayatan, lawyer Vicente Petierre III, and lawyer Collin Derk Isidto, and PVB first vice president and chief legal counsel lawyer Roel Costuna.
While Villamor said they have already presented their complaint and the complete evidence pursuant to the TRO of the loan transaction, lawyer Bayatan disclosed that they would had also filed a motion to dismiss for injunction with prayer for preliminary injunction and/or TRO on the grounds that there is an insufficient and incorrect on the payment of the docket fee thus, the honorable court cannot acquire jurisdiction or to validly commence with the initial proceedings of the instant case.
Bayatan further explained that their action was based on the forum shopping since that there's a similar action or issue pending before the City Council, "calling for the dismissal of the complaint to avoid forum shopping."
He added that the petitioner has no legal standing to file the instant taxpayer's suit because he has no personal and substantial interest in the instant case and has fatally failed to show in the complaint that he will suffer or sustain a direct and personal injury as result of the implementation of the loan agreement and the assailed resolutions, and "there's no disbursement of public funds neither unlawful spending failing to qualify the complaint as taxpayer's suit."
Petierre also stressed that the complaint wants the court to issue a TRO but the complainant has no personality to file a case since he is not qualified for a taxpayer suit.
He further cited a citizen suitcase of lawyer Antonio Oposa against environment issues that, "anybody could file this case involving environment, but if you are trying to attack directly the fiscal functions of the local government unit, it is a taxpayer suit."
Villamor, being a taxpayer of the city for almost 50 years however, emphasized that he filed a citizen suit and not a taxpayer suit.
He further explained that a taxpayer suit described as a taxpayer of the city who is damaged or injured from the arising acts of government while a citizen suit is a public right of every individual to institute the case if there were something wrong in the government.
He also insisted to the Court not to dismiss the said case and clarified that his manifestation is not to withdraw the loan but to intervene in the meantime its release.