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By Jomar Canlas, Reporter
A former partner in an influential but
controversial law firm that has fallen out of grace from the
administration will be handling the two writs filed by the Lozada
family against the Arroyo government.
Associate Justice Celia Librea-Leagogo of the
Court of Appeals 17th Division was formerly with the Villaraza,
Cruz, Marcelo and Angangco law firm, which some refer to simple as
“The Firm.” Her division has been tasked to handle the petitions
for a writ of amparo and a writ of habeas corpus filed by relatives
of Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr., the new star witness in the Senate
investigation into the aborted broadband deal awarded to ZTE Corp.
of China.
A source told The Manila Times that Leagogo
wants to move fast on the case, with a hearing set Thursday. Leagogo
reportedly is now asking the members of the 17th Division to brace
themselves for a public scrutiny because of the media attention
Lozada is now getting.
Leagogo’s former law firm used to represent
President Gloria Arroyo and her family. The firm’s former power
and influence were evident in the President’s list of appointees
that included its senior partners—Supreme Court Associate Justice
Antonio Carpio, former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo and former Defense
Secretary Avelino Cruz, to name a few.
But the firm had a falling out with President
Arroyo, and it recently announced that Marcelo and Cruz will be
rejoining their law partners.
A source told The Times that even though Leagogo
is identified with “The Firm,” she has maintained her
independence.
Besides her, the other members of the 17th
Division are Justices
Sixto Marella and Regalado Maambong, who will sit as chairman.
Maambong was a former commissioner of the
Commission on Elections (Comelec) and one of the delegates who
drafted the 1987 Constitution. Marella was a former Makati regional
trial court judge whose many awards include the Judicial Excellence
Award given by the Supreme Court.
Task at hand
The Supreme Court has remanded the Lozada family
petitions to the Court of Appeals, with instructions to order the
respondents—President Gloria Arroyo and national police chief,
Director Gen. Avelino Razon—to file a response to the writs filed
by Violeta Lozada, wife of Jun Lozada.
The High Court gave that order despite the fact
that Lozada is now in the custody of the Senate. Instead of making
the petitions moot and academic, the Supreme Court decided to ask
the government to explain the alleged abduction of Lozada.
As to the petition for the writ of amparo filed
by Arthur Lozada, brother of the broadband witness, protection for
Jun Lozada is being requested. The writ also asks the court to order
the inspection and production of documents related to his alleged
abduction.
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