The appellate court overturned the ruling of Regional Trial Court Judge Augustine Vestil restraining lawyer Adelino Sitoy from prosecuting the case since he (Sitoy) is allegedly not an Ombudsman-designated counsel.
In an Oct. 17 resolution, the CA granted a petition by the Plantation Bay Resort employees asking that Sitoy be allowed to continue representing them in the case.
In what witnesses described as a "near-massacre," NBI agents and confidential agents fired at the Mitsubishi L-300 van the resort personnel were riding in, mistaking the vehicle to be the one a drug supplier they were pursuing, was using.
The CA ordered Vestil to proceed with the hearing of the case tomorrow.
It cited a provision in the Ombudsman Act allowing a lawyer in government to act as a special investigator in prosecuting the case.
The resort employees earlier assailed Vestil, saying he disregarded their right to be represented by a counsel of their choice. — Freeman News Service