Comval judge denies SP injunction bid vs provl engr who quit Tagum city councilor
By Cha Monforte
NABUNTURAN, Compostela Valley- Regional Trial Court- Branch 3 Judge Hilarion Clapis here has denied Tuesday, June 20, the motion of the suing Sangguniang Panlalawigan members for preliminary injunction to further disallow provincial engineer Agripino Coquilla from assuming office after he was barred by a series of temporary restraining orders earlier issued by the court. Judge Clapis decision paved the way for the assumption of Coquilla to his position Wednesday after eight of the SP members including Vice Gov. Ramil Gentugaya questioned his appointment by Gov. Jose Caballero on the ground that Coquilla has allegedly failed to have a six-month residency requirement as spelled out by the Local Government Code. The 20-day temporary restraining order against the assumption of Coquilla issued by Clapis last March 1 expired Tuesday. It followed the 72-hour TRO Clapis first issued last May 30. Meanwhile, Coquilla in an interview thanked for the judge ruling even as he was contemplating to sue the involved SP members for damages. He said he was so hurt and his name was so tattered charging he was so unfairly treated in the media in obvious trial by publicity while he was stooped by the TROs. The complainant boardmembers are Arturo Uy, Graciano Arafol, Ma. Carmen Apsay, William Andres, Ruben Flores, Reynaldo Navarro (FABC), Moran Takasan (PCL) and Adrian Relampagos (SK). Last Tuesday at Clapis sala contending lawyers clashed anew over the appointment issue and particularly the motion of SP oppositors for preliminary injunction to stop Coquilla from assuming his position while there is a question his appointment. At the start of Tuesday’s hearing, lawyers of complainants, former Vice Gov. Peter Ruwel Gonzaga and co-complainant Arafol immediately launched their counter-strategy of inhibiting topnotcher lawyer Dexter Lopoz who moved for the immediate dismissal of the complainants’ motion for injunction for the RTC’s "lack of jurisdiction" in hearing the case. Lopoz was joined in by Provincial Legal Officer Placido Alcomendras III and Civil Service Commission provincial director Atty. Faith Presbetero. Complainants’ lawyers also moved to expunge from the records of the case the motion to dismiss of the respondents. They argued that the provincial attorney should be the only one to represent Coquilla and not a private lawyer. Atty. Lopoz argued that Coquilla was entitled for a private counsel as it was his livelihood which has been threatened. Atty. Arafol was insistent that it should be the provincial attorney who is Alcomendras who should solely defend Coquilla, an assertion which Alcomendras instead used to turn the table to the complainants’ lawyers as to why they themselves defended the SP members when it should be him who is ought to defend them in court if Arafol’s contention be headed. The lawyers’ tangling over that issue has thrown the court into obvious confusion as the judge himself asked the presence of a fiscal to give his opinion on the issue. Fiscal Alejandro Enriquez who later arrived in the court room however commented only that he could counsel for the Coquilla’s case if the Solicitor General directs him so through an order entry of appearance. The hearing which lasted for almost three hours starting 2 pm had also drawn legal debates on the contentious issue on whether the RTC has the jurisdiction to hear the issue and not the CSC or the appeals court. Lopoz contended that in various laws and rules on similar issue the RTC has no jurisdiction over to hear the matter much less issue TROs and injunction as it is the CSC which is the "central personnel agency of the government" which he argued has the quasi-judicial functions to decide disputes on all matters relating the civil service including appointments, or in appealed cases the Court of Appeals. Atty. Presbetero argued that "a plethora of cases ruled by the Supreme Court" showed that it her agency and not the RTC which has jurisdiction to decide on purely personnel matters. Another contentious issue was on when to start the 15-day period during which the SP had to act on the governor’s appointment on receipt of the governor’s request for confirmation on his appointment by the SP secretariat or when it was already calendared for deliberation. In seeking to dismiss the petition for injunction, Atty. Lopoz further argued that the complainants failed to beat the required 15-day timeframe for the SP to act on the appointment, which was refuted by the SP lawyers. Lopoz said there was a lapse of 19 days as the SP only acted last March 15 though it made a resolution of non-concurrence from February 24, 2006 when the governor’s request for concurrence was received by the SP secretariat. Arafol contended that the counting should not be based on the receipt of SP secretariat but on March 1, 2006 when it was submitted to the SP. Meanwhile, the CSC-Comval provincial office separately confirmed with the governor’s appointment although Presbero said that the matter is still pending review by her regional office at press time While there was no ruling from Judge Clapis on both issues, on the lack of jurisdiction and on the counting of the 15-day period of the SP to act on appointment, he denied the motion of the complainants for injunction as the second TRO expired. He then ruled for parties to manifest upon receipt of summon within 15 days for the court to rule on the issue on lack jurisdiction. Under the Local Government Code, failure of the legislative body to act within that period would mean the automatic concurrence of the appointment of the chief executive to his appointee. The atmosphere of the Provincial Engineering Office building Wednesday was festive as PEO personnel unfurled a streamer welcoming Coquilla back. Coquilla was put into a center of controversy last month when he resigned as a Tagum City councilor on May 15 and on the next day, May 16 reported for work as the Comval PEO head. His resignation was accordingly accepted by the Tagum city council on May 22. He went on leave after Clapis issued the series of TROs. Coquilla filled up the vacuum created by former provincial engineer Adriano Salubre who made Absence Without Official Leave (AWOL) following his heart bypass at the United States. He was officially dropped from the rolls on November 26, 2004.
