LP lawyer says TRO won’t be granted

CEBU, Philippines - While the camp of suspended Governor Gwendolyn Garcia is hopeful that a temporary restraining order would be granted, the Liberal Party believes otherwise saying there is nothing to restrain.

LP Cebu spokesperson, lawyer Democrito Barcenas, yesterday said that a TRO is no longer necessary as the provincial govern ment is now functioning very well under the leadership of Acting Governor Agnes Magpale.

Barcenas explained that if there was an extreme necessity for Garcia to stay in office, the TRO would have been granted last December after the suspension order was issued on the 19th.

“More or less, sa akong pagtoo di gyud na moabot ang TRO. That is tantamount to wa na’y TRO,” Barcenas said.

But Garcia is willing to go to the Supreme Court if the CA will not issue a TRO.

“My commitment to the Cebuano people is to exhaust all legal remedies that may be available to us,” Garcia said.

Court of Appeals Associate Justice Vicente Veloso who chairs the three-member CA 12th division criticized Garcia’s petition saying she should have filed for a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of court, where the appeals court could issue a TRO and at the same time ensure that rights of both parties are protected.

Garcia cited Rule 43 of the Rules of Court which is asking for a TRO on the ground of irreparable injury.

Lawyer Ma. Christina Esperanza Garcia-Frasco explained that Rule 65 applies if there is no other plain, speedy or adequate remedy available under the law but the Local Government Code provides that the decision of the Office of the President is appealable.

“That is the reason why we availed of Rule 43 because the remedy of appeal is still available to the decision of the Office of the President,” Frasco said.

The Office of the President on December 19, 2012 suspended Gov. Garcia for six months after she was found guilty by the Department of Interior and Local Government of the administrative charges filed by the late vice governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr.

Frasco said that if they availed of Rule 65, the petition for TRO could easily be dismissed on technicality because it merely allows decision that are interlocutory which means “there is something more to be done about that decision which is not yet final and executory.”

Garcia also hit Veloso for saying that she would not suffer injury when she could still recover back wages later on if she wins the case.

Frasco said the case was not about money but the deprivation of the term of office given to the governor by virtue of her election into office.

“This is obviously not about compensation. It is about the governor’s term of office and the loss of time,” Frasco said. —/MBG (FREEMAN)