For contempt of court Wesy's lawyers arrested, freed

Regional Trial Court Judge Ireneo Lee-Gako Jr. yesterday ordered the incarceration of three Manila-based lawyers of Wesy Quisumbing for maligning the integrity of the court when they filed a motion asking the judge to inhibit from handling the civil case filed by their client against her father.

Lawyers Paris Real, Sherwin Real, and Emmanuel Brotarlo of Makati City, were in Cebu yesterday to attend the hearing of their motion, but were all shocked when Gako cited them for indirect contempt and ordered their imprisonment without bail.

It was Paris Real, who last January 11 filed the motion asking Gako to inhibit from handling the case because he believed that the judge is no longer impartial on his judgment of the case being a former lawyer of Transfarm and other companies owned by the Quisumbings.

Wesy, whose real name is Wenceslao Quisumbing, filed civil cases against her father - Norberto B. Quisumbing Jr. and other siblings - after she was removed from her former position as the president of their family-owned corporation just after undergoing a sex-change abroad in 1996.

Also included in the suit is University of San Jose Recoletos as defendant as Wesy wants the school not to grant her father a doctorate of humanities honoris causa saying that he is not fit to receive such honor.

The legal battle between the father and Wesy caught the attention of a TV personality in Manila, who personally went to Cebu to interview the younger Quisumbing about his life, but Norberto's lawyers were quick to secure a mandatory injunction from Gako prohibiting the airing of the interview.

Gako insisted that his move of issuing the order prohibiting ABS-CBN from showing the interview of Wesy conducted by Boy Abunda is within the role, contrary to the belief of the petitioner's lawyers.

But Wesy's lawyers claimed their client "cannot attain justice in its real sense as the petitioner sees, believes and feels that the presiding judge is biased in favor of some parties."

Paris Real said in one of their hearings, the defendant's lawyers were citing a Supreme Court ruling that they only described as "Dagupan case" in trying to justify Gako's move of issuing an order prohibiting the showing of the interview even if the TV station is in Manila. According to Real the defense lawyers did not mention the complete title of such Supreme Court ruling and were even allegedly not sure about the case they were quoting.

But when Gako issued an order after the hearing, Real said the judge "surprisingly read the mind of the counsel and even added some more. Thus, it cited exactly the title of the so-called Dagupan case complete with its citation of case numbers and the date of promulgation even when there are about a million decided Dagupan cases to reckon with."

What really irked Gako is a statement of Wesy's lawyer that states:

"As the petitioner could not decipher what she perceives to be a biased order from the presiding judge, she then conducted an investigation on why he has apparently put an extra-ordinary zeal and dedication to a very new case.

"Lo and Behold !!! Petitoner learned that the presiding judge of this court, the honorable Judge Ireneo Lee Gako Jr. was a former lawyer of Transfarm and/or other corporations owned and/or controlled by the Quisumbing who are adversaries of the petitioner."

After Gako ordered for the detention of the three lawyers yesterday, the three counsels borrowed a typewriter from one of Gako's staff and wrote a formal apology to the judge.

Escorted by the court sheriffs, the three lawyers also sought the help of RTC executive judge Simeon Dumdum Jr., but the latter explained to them that even if he is the executive judge he could not interfere about judicial matters in their respective salas.

It prompted the lawyers to proceed to the Court of Appeals in Labangon and they met with some justices, but they refused to divulge the outcome of their meetings when they came out from the appellate court.

In the afternoon, the three lawyers - still escorted by the sheriffs - went back to the court to find out whether Gako had accepted their apology. It was fortunate for them that Gako has decided to lift his order, saying "Gipatagam ra nako sila, mga arogante kaayo."