Lawyer "not qualified": Judge defers resolution on Guadalupe split pleading

CEBU, Philippines – Saying that lawyer Julius Caesar S. Entice is not qualified to file pleadings, Regional Trial Court Branch 58 Judge Gabriel T. Ingles is suspending the resolution of a motion for reconsideration that Entice filed in relation to the move to split Guadalupe and Banawa, Cebu City.

Entice is lawyer of Barangay Labangon Councilor Victor Buendia, who filed a petition to stop the Commission on Elections from holding a plebiscite until the court rules to which barangay Rosalina Village really belongs.

Buendia is a resident of Rosalina Village and he had argued that his right of suffrage would be violated if, as Labangon resident, he cannot participate in the plebiscite and the court would later rule later that his village is indeed part of Guadalupe.

Republic Act 9905 separates sitios Banawa and Englis from Barangay Guadalupe to become a separate barangay to be known as Banawa-Englis. Filed by former Cebu City South District congressman Antonio Cuenco, the bill was approved by President Arroyo last January.

But Judge Ingles had dismissed last May Buendia's petition against the plebiscite after Buendia failed to appear in two hearings.

Entice then filed a motion for reconsideration on the junking of Buendia's petition, saying he takes full responsibility for Buendia's non-appearance at the hearings.

Entice added that their non-appearance was never intended to antagonize the court and in fact, their failure to appear was never intended at all. He explained that they were waiting for the resolution of an earlier motion.

"Because the herein counsel has not received a resolution of the pending motion for reconsideration and because he is one unit deficient each in the MCLE subjects, the herein counsel decided to attend the MCLE Seminar hosted by one of the Universities here in Cebu," Entice explained in the motion for reconsideration their failure to appear in court last June 25.

But this explanation led Judge Ingles to conclude that Entice was not qualified to file pleadings before the court, as he has not completed the required Mandatory Con-tinuing Legal Education (MCLE).

Since this is a requirement, a lawyer has no right to affix his signature in pleadings if he fails to finish the MCLE.

Judge Ingles, in his order, states that it appears Entice had not yet completed his MCLE requirements as he had to enroll in an MCLE Seminar.

Therefore, he could not have acted as counsel for Buendia.

Judge Ingles has given Entice 10 days to explain in writing why Bar Matter 1922 should not be implemented considering that he obviously lacked the requirements when he signed the pleadings.

Bar Matter 1922 would mean the dismissal of the case and the expunction of the pleadings from the record.

Ingles will not rule on the motion for reconsideration on Buendia's petition unless Entice submits his explanation.  (FREEMAN)