House summons QC court staff in land row probe

MANILA, Philippines - In a move that could trigger yet another conflict between the legislative and judicial branches, the House of Representatives has summoned employees of two Quezon City courts in connection with its probe of the transfer of a 24-hectare prime property in the city to a 75-year-old landowner tagged by residents of the affected subdivisions as a professional land-grabber.

In a subpoena, the House committee on justice ordered QC regional trial court (RTC) Branches 224 and 98 to submit all records pertaining to the case involving the disputed property that was awarded to Wilfredo Torres through a purportedly spurious title.

The order issued last Sept. 22, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR, was signed by committee chair Iloilo Rep. Neil Tupas Jr. and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

The subjects of the summons are QC RTC Branch 224 clerk of court Arnaldo Mendieta and the clerk of court of Branch 98 as well as records of civil case numbers Q-13653, Q-907130 and the contempt case against lawyer Elbert Quilala.

This move, however, was questioned by court officials who said it could be possible violation of subjudice rule and separation of powers of the judiciary and Congress.

Citing a November 1991 court ruling in Bengzon Jr. vs. Blue Ribbon committee, an RTC judge who spoke on condition of anonymity stressed that records of pending cases cannot be the subject of a subpoena for purposes of investigation in aid of legislation.

“That is not allowed precisely because we don’t want a difference in findings of the court and that of Congress on the same case. What will happen if the decision of the trial court would run counter to the findings of the congressional inquiry?” the judge said.

The land row between Torres and affected residents is also the subject of a pending case in the Court of Appeals (CA), which temporarily stopped the transfer of a 24-hectare prime property last Sept. 9.

In a six-page resolution released yesterday, the CA’s sixth division issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining Judge Tita Marilyn Payoyo-Villordon of the Quezon City regional trial court Branch 224 from implementing her order granting the disputed property to Wilfredo Torres through a purportedly spurious title.

The TRO is valid for 60 days or until further orders from the CA division chaired by Associate Justice Amelita Tolentino. Over 3,000 people are in danger of losing their homes over the RTC’s writ of possession issued last May 2.