THE Regional Trial Court Branch 44 in Bacolod City rescheduled the hearing on the case filed against the city officials, city hall executives, and the Development of the Philippines (DBP) involving the P1.7 billion loan on March 6.
City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan, legal counsel of Mayor Evelio Leonardia and other respondents, said on Wednesday, February 13, that the hearing of the petition for temporary restraining order (TRO) filed by the complainants former vice mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, former councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, and businessman Antonio Wong was held and abeyance.
The complaint was filed against Leonardia, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran; Councilors Caesar Distrito, Cindy Rojas, Renecito Novero, Em Ang, Elmer Sy, Ana Marie Palermo, Dindo Ramos, Bartolome Orola, Sonya Verdeflor, Lady Gles Gonzale-Pallen, and Ayesha Joy Villaflor; City Council Secretary Vicente Petierre III; City Treasurer Giovanni Balalilhe; City Budget Officer Maria Imelda Williams; City Accountant Corazon Cardel; Development Bank of the Philippines Negros Occidental Lending Center head Bernardo Catillion Jr. on January 18.
They filed the civil case for certiorari, prohibition, and annulment of contract with a prayer for a TRO, preliminary injunction, and/or preliminary mandatory injunction.
During the hearing on Wednesday which was presided by Judge Ana Celeste Bernad, Bayatan questioned the payment of docket fee or the jurisdictional of the case.
Bayatan said that when the legal counsel of the petitioners were about to start for the presentation of their first witness, they manifested that the action was about the alleged taxpayer’s suit.
Bayatan pointed out that wrong payment of the docket fee will necessarily affect the jurisdiction of the Court, and the Court may not acquire jurisdiction over the case when no docket fee is paid or if the docket fee that was paid is a wrong docket fee.
He said the Court gave them five days to submit their motion to dismiss on the ground of jurisdiction on the basis of the issue of docket fee and the other party, the petitioners, are also given a period of five days to file their comment.
He added that if the petitioners are claiming they will be damaged on the amount of P1.7 billion, which is the project to be initiated by the city government, then it will run into millions (docket fee), but they only paid P7,000 based on the records.
Bayatan disclosed that it’s always a rule that upon a filling of the petition of the complaint, there is a correct payment of the docket fee because that is jurisdictional.
Also present in the hearing were Familiaran, Petierre, Batapa Sigue, petitioners legal counsel Santiso, Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr., former Bacolod mayor Monico Puentevella, among others.