|
A Court of Appeals Justice has decided to voluntarily
inhibit himself from participating in a controversial multi-billion
peso corporate case on allegations that he is bias and partial
about.
In a four-page memorandum,
Associate Justice Sixto Marella Jr. informed Justice Mario Guarina
3rd, Chairman of the appellate court’s 16th Division, of his
decision to grant the motion filed by lawyers of the Steel
Corporation of the Philippines (SCP) for him to inhibit himself from
ruling on their petition for a review of their case.
However, Marella stressed that
the grounds presented by Steel Corp. to support its motion for
voluntarily inhibition “are based on mere speculations and
imputations of bias and partiality which are not for a judge or
justice to inhibit especially when there is not proof presented to
substantiate such claims.”
“Considering the position
of SCP, for its peace of mind and consonant with the policy that the
administration of justice should not only be impartial, independent
and honest but should be believed and perceived to be impartial,
independent and honest, SCP’s Motion for Voluntary Inhibition is
hereby granted,” Marella said.
Steel Corp. earlier filed a
complaint with Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno and
appellate court Presiding Justice Conrado Vasquez that all their
petitions filed with the latter’s court
were all raffled to Marella, a
situation which it said “cannot but lead it (Steel Corp.) to
believe that there may have been a deliberate attempt on the part of
certain persons to direct all cases regarding the rehabilitation of
Steel Corp. to Justice Marella”
Marella also asked the division
clerk of the appellate court to forward all the records pertaining
to the appeal to the Raffle Committee to conduct a re-raffle.
Records show that Marella
was handling three cases involving Steel Corp., but he pointed out
that the cases had landed on his lap coincidentally.
Lady Judge’s order
questioned
Officials of Steel Corp. lauded
Puno and Vasquez for their prompt and timely action.
Steel Corp. earlier sought the
assistance of the higher court magistrates to rectify the alleged
injustices it suffered in the hands of a Batangas City lady judge
whose ruling on the company’s rehabilitation is under question at
the appellate court.
“Their prompt and swift actions
has bolstered the company’s faith in the judicial system which it
felt was marred by flawed decisions of lower court judges like Judge
Maria Cecilia Austria of the Batangas City Regional Trial Court,”
lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, one of counsels of Steel Corp. said.
Earlier, Associate Justice
Apolinario Bruselas Jr. granted a 60-day temporary restraining order
that stopped Austria from implementing her order, allowing creditors
of Steel Corp. to take over the operations of the company through a
management committee.
--William B. Depasupil
|
