Lawyer arrested for failure to attend pre-trial conference

CEBU, Philippines - The Talisay City Police on Monday arrested a lawyer who failed to attend a scheduled pre-trial conference on a grave oral defamation case against him.

By virtue of a bench warrant of arrest issued by Judge Mario Manayon of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) last December 17, 2013, the police arrested Floro Casas, Jr. inside his residence in Talisay City.

"Being the date requested by the accused himself, the court expects his presence today and there is no justifiable reason appearing on record why he failed to appear. Fiscal Hyacinth Jadraque (public prosecutor) moved for the issuance of bench warrant of arrest for failure of the accused to appear for pre-trial. The court finds the motion to be supported by the record and grants the same," the one-page order read.

SPO1 Mike Espina of Talisay City Police Station said they served the bench warrant at around 10:20 p.m. Casas did not resist the arrest, he added.

The lawyer then filed an urgent motion before the court asking for the lifting of the bench warrant. He said it was the first time that he failed to appear in the hearing of the case.

"Accused has absolutely no intention of evading the prosecution of this case, no matter how baseless and frivolous this case may be. Second the accused did not receive any notice or order from this Honorable Court regarding the 17 December 2013 hearing," the motion reads.

Though he proposed the said date through an urgent motion for resetting dated November 21, 2013, Casas said it was not a ground for the court to issue a bench warrant as there was no confirmation that the proposed date can be accommodated.

"…there is absolutely no confirmation that the said proposed date can be accommodated by the calendar of this Honorable Court as shown by the utter lack of notice to that effect. Thus, the accused believed in good faith that the said scheduled hearing did not push through," the motion further reads.

With the foregoing motion, Manayon yesterday issued an order lifting the bench warrant and ordered the release of Casas from the police custody. Casas was eventually released.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Assistant City Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro who in her judicial affidavit alleged that she was called by Casas as "buang (insane)" after she sought for the removal of Casas as Director of the Board of Azienda Cresta/Milan/Venezia Homeowners' Association where she was elected as president.

"The circumstances that I am a lady lawyer, a public prosecutor, president and chairman of the Board of Azienda Cresta/Milan/Venezia Homeowners' Association worthy for the other directors to look up for exemplariness of character, who called that meeting purposely to hear his (Casas) issues and problem, and calling me buang, imputation that I am a terrorist, among other offense and scurrilous epithets," the complaint stated.

Thus, Castro asked the court that Casas be "adjudged guilty for grave oral defamation." Likewise, she asked for a minimal amount of P3 million damages representing moral, nominal, temperate, exemplary and actual damages and litigation expenses.—  (FREEMAN)