THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 10 has dismissed the complaint filed by the minority bloc of the Cebu City Council against Mayor Tomas Osmeña and administration councilors regarding the joint venture agreement (JVA) between City Hall and Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc. (UHRI).
Judge Soliver Peras, in his decision released last Thursday, May 2, stated that the complainants violated the non-forum shopping rule, which does not allow a litigant to file multiple cases based on the same cause of action.
The case was raffled off to his sala last Sept. 19.
The eight opposition councilors led by Councilor Joey Daluz III filed a petition to nullify the JVA with an urgent prayer for a 72-hour temporary restraining order, or a writ of preliminary injunction.
Peras gave weight to the defense’s argument, which asked the court to dismiss the case because the same case was filed before the sala of RTC Branch 23 Judge Generosa Labra, who had ruled that the council’s passage of the resolution allowing Osmeña to sign the JVA with UHRI was legal.
Busay Barangay Councilor Amilo Lopez was the petitioner of the case filed before Labra’s sala. After the dismissal, he filed a motion asking Labra to reconsider her decision, but the latter has yet to resolve the motion.
“Petitioners have a shared identity of interest. They are not suing in their personal capacities but in their capacity as public officials and taxpayers. Their common interest is based on their political stand,” Peras said.
The respondents in the cases filed before RTC Branch 10 and RTC Branch 23 are the City Government and UHRI.
The minority bloc has maintained that the majority bloc had no basis to convene a session where the latter passed the resolution. The former said minutes of the session last Aug. 7 revealed that the session had already adjourned and any resolution approved after it was illegal.
Cebu City Legal Officer Joseph Bernaldez said with the court’s decision, City Hall and UHRI can proceed with plans to develop the 10-hectare Kawit Island in the South Road Properties. (From PAC of SuperBalita Cebu, KAL)