Court urged to junk Carabuena’s appeal

MANILA, Philippines - A Quezon City court has been asked to deny the motion for reinvestigation filed by Robert Blaire Carabuena, the motorist who was caught in CCTV slapping a traffic enforcer of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) last August.

In his comment filed before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 42, Assistant City Prosecutor Nicasio Rosales said that Carabuena was given ample time to submit his counter-affidavit during the preliminary investigation of the case.

“It was set by the investigating prosecutor three times, and despite such opportunity for the accused to file his counter-affidavit, he did not do so,” Rosales said.

“The investigating prosecutor declared the case considered submitted for resolution as the accused failed to submit his counter-affidavit,” he added.

Carabuena had earlier asked the court to order the reinvestigation of the case after the “investigating prosecutor resolved to file the instant case with indecent haste.”

He said that Assistant City Prosecutor Victorino Badua refused to extend the deadline even after saying that they were having difficulties in securing statements of witnesses who were unwilling to get involved in the case.

But Rosales said that “difficulty in convincing the witnesses to submit their sworn statements is a flimsy excuse.”

The prosecutor also noted that there were no affidavits of witnesses attached to the motion for reconsideration and to admit counter-affidavit filed before the Office of the City Prosecutor.