Court set to release decision on P1.7-B case

THE Regional Trial Court Branch 44 in Bacolod City is set to release its decision on the case filed against the city officials, city hall executives, and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) involving the P1.7 billion loan.

City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan, legal counsel of Mayor Evelio Leonardia and other respondents, said Wednesday, March 6, the petitioners, former vice mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, former councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, and businessman Antonio Wong, presented their petitions for certiorari, prohibition, declaratory relief and annulment of judgment, as well as their purposes for filing the case.

“But, we were surprised that before the hearing, they dropped these three (certiorari, prohibition, declaratory relief) and all they want now is simply to annul the contract between the city government and DBP,” he said.

The hearing was presided by Judge Ana Celeste Bernad.

Bayatan said all the documents were already submitted for the resolution of Court.

“We will wait for the decision of the Court whether it will grant or not the temporary restraining order (TRO) or whether or not to grant our motion to dismiss,” he said.

On January 18, the petitioners filed the civil case for certiorari, prohibition, and annulment of contract with a prayer for a TRO, preliminary injunction, and/or preliminary mandatory injunction 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; DBP Negros Occidental Lending Center head Bernardo Catillion Jr.

On February 13 hearing, Bayatan questioned the payment of docket fee or the jurisdictional of the case.

Bayatan said 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.

“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,” he said.

Also present in the hearing were, Batapa Sigue, petitioners legal counsel Rolando Ravena, former Bacolod mayor Monico Puentevella, among others.

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