Taguig seeks inhibition of CA justice in BGC case

MANILA, Philippines - The city government of Taguig yesterday questioned the impartiality of the Court of Appeals (CA) magistrate who penned the decision last month transferring the jurisdiction and control of Fort Bonifacio, including the high-end Bonifacio Global City (BGC), to Makati City.

In a 12-page motion filed through the city legal department, Mayor Lani Cayetano sought the inhibition of Associate Justice Marlene Gonzales–Sison from the case before the Sixth Division of the appellate court.

The petitioner cited as basis the justice’s link to United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), the political party of Vice President Jejomar Binay and Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay who have been claiming that the disputed area belongs to their city.

Cayetano said the Taguig City government recently learned that Sison is married to lawyer Casimiro “Cassy” Sison, a former prosecutor who ran and won as councilor in the sixth district of Manila under the UNA party last May.

“Atty. Cassy Sison’s membership in UNA and close association with Vice President Binay cast serious doubt on the impartiality of Hon. Gonzales-Sison, his wife and ponente in the case,” the motion read.

The Taguig mayor also cited a “suspicion” that the CA ruling was a “political decision meant to curry favor with Vice President Binay for future appointment to the Supreme Court.”

“Such suspicion could very well be unfounded and unfair to Justice Sison. But her relationship with Atty. Cassy Sison and his ties to UNA do not help remove the suspicion,” Cayetano said.

“Judges should not only be impartial, but should also appear impartial. A judge should exercise circumspection in the discharge of his duties to preclude suspicion on his impartiality,” added the pleading.

Cayetano, who was accompanied by her brother-in-law Taguig Rep. Lino Cayetano, said their motion for inhibition is the first of legal steps that Taguig City is planning to take to prevent the transfer of Fort Bonifacio’s ownership to Makati City.

She said their legal team was also preparing a motion for reconsideration to be filed before the CA.

Cayetano refuted the Makati mayor’s claim that the CA ruling is immediately executory.

“The decision is not yet final and executory and there are legal remedies that Taguig may still take,” she said.

She added there is no reason to rush the implementation of the CA decision considering that Makati’s budget is almost triple that of Taguig’s.

Cayetano admitted the Taguig City government would lose a “substantial” income once Fort Bonifacio is transferred to Makati.

She indicated that the funding for the basic services in 28 villages in Taguig as well as its 39,000 scholars would be affected if the ruling is sustained.– With Mike Frialde