Rains delay electoral sabotage case hearing vs GMA

MANILA, Philippines - The recent floods caused by monsoon rains in Metro Manila resulted in the delay of the court hearing scheduled yesterday on the electoral sabotage case filed against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Judge Jesus Mupas of Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 112 was supposed to hear the motion for reconsideration filed by government prosecutors on the grant of P1-million bail to the former president for electoral sabotage in connection with alleged cheating in the senatorial elections in Maguindanao in 2007.

However, the comment of defense lawyer Benjamin Santos on the motion that was mailed to the prosecution panel was not delivered after government offices remained closed for the past three days due to the floods.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) lead prosecutor Esmeralda Ladra said they would no longer ask for a hearing on their motion and just file comment after they receive the reply of Arroyo’s lawyers.

“We asked the court for 10 days to answer the comment of the defense,” she told reporters after the brief court proceeding was adjourned.

She said they would prepare for the pre-trial of the case set on Aug. 23.

During the last hearing on July 25, the prosecutors of the Comelec failed to furnish Arroyo’s counsel with a copy of its motion for reconsideration on the grant of bail to Arroyo three days before the scheduled hearing, prompting the judge to postpone the hearing.

The Rules of Court require a party-movant to furnish the adverse party with copy of the motion at least three days before the scheduled hearing to give them time to prepare, otherwise their motion will be considered as not filed.

Ladra said they mailed copies of the motion to defense lawyers.

Santos informed the court that they have not yet received the copy of the motion sent to them by mail and it was only before the start of the hearing that they were able to get a copy.

Mupas has asked the prosecutors why they had to resort to mailing copies of the MR when the hearing was six days away.

Ladra said since they were mailing the motion within Metro Manila, they thought the document would reach the defense lawyers after one of two days but it apparently did not.

Registered mail is known to be slow even within Metro Manila.

Mupas, however, did not strike out the motion for reconsideration filed and merely required the defense to file their comment within five days from receipt of the motion.