Carabuena appeals arrest order

MANILA, Philippines - Robert Blair Carabuena, the motorist who was videotaped assaulting a Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic constable last year, is appealing the issuance of a warrant for his arrest.

Claiming that he was suffering from gastroenteritis, Carabuena – through his lawyer, Caesar Ortega – said in an urgent omnibus motion that he meant no disrespect to the court when he failed to attend his arraignment on Feb. 7.

He asked Judge Juris Dilinila-Callanta of the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 42 to lift the arrest warrant as his failure to attend his arraignment “was occasioned purely by the foregoing circumstances.” The hearing of the motion was set on Friday.

In his motion, the motorist said he was in a very uncomfortable and painful state and that he “had to contend with the potential embarrassment of ‘dirtying’ his underwear and pants while inside the courtroom.”

“For the information of the presiding judge, who apparently has not yet suffered from this kind of illness, a person suffering from this malady experiences severe stomach ache, accompanied by loose bowel movement,” the motion added.

Ortega explained that his absence from the same hearing was due to his prior commitment to cross-examine a witness in another case in Manila. Dilinila-Callanta earlier ordered the lawyer to show cause why he should not be cited for contempt.

Last week, Dilinila-Callanta ordered the arrest of Carabuena and doubled his bail to P24,000 after he failed to attend his arraignment on the direct assault charges filed against him by MMDA constable Saturnino Fabros.