Ginebra laments ‘delaying tactics’

Industry leader Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (GSMI) has decried the "dilatory" tactics being used by Tanduay Distillers, Inc. (TDI) in bid to stall the trial on the P100-million civil suit filed by GSMI against the latter for alleged infringement and unfair competition.

GSMI legal counsel Gilbert Reyes of the Poblador, Bautista and Reyes Law Offices said TDI’s recent bid for Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Judge Edwin Sorongon to inhibit from the case "is an unfortunate ploy to derail the legal process" .

GSMI also welcomed the move by Tanduay to file a counterclaim to the dismissal of their motion for reconsideration of an earlier plea for the dropping of the charges against the company. GSMI lawyers said this is routine legal process and poses no new issues. They are set to answer the counterclaim.

Judge Sorongon recently issued a temporary restraining order banning the further sale and manufacture of TDI’s questioned Kapitan gin product. Sorongon is scheduled to hear arguments from both GSMI and TDI on the former’s petition for a writ of preliminary injunction on Oct. 6.

Reyes said the move to inhibit Sorongon from hearing the case "appears to be a desperate attempt to prevent the legal process from proceeding to the trial proper during which the important evidence and witnesses are to be presented."

Should the respondent succeed in pressuring the presiding judge to inhibit, the injunction proceedings will needlessly be delayed thereby allowing the respondent to continue with the sale of its questioned product, Reyes added. He said this is unfair to the market which wants only the truth on this issue based on litmus test of the judicial evaluation of evidence.

He said "if the manufacturer of the questioned product is confident that it has a strong defense, it must not delay the advent of the trial proper."

Reyes said the large gin market "has an important stake in this trial." He said GSMI "hopes to be able to present the important evidences at the trial proper so the market can be better educated on the issues concerning consumer protection from copycat products."

At present, there is no other available forum to present these materials except before the court during the trial proper, he pointed out.

Reyes expressed the hope that TDI "would cooperate with the legal processes so we can get this issue over and done with".