POSSIBLE SCENARIOS FOR THE SERIOUS ILLEGAL DETENTION CASE It might be a long wait for the next significant decision. So let’s do some scenario building on this case. There are only two possible things that may happen at this point. Either Judge Mariam Bien will concur with Judge Cortez’s ruling or she will disagree with the previous ruling and cancel the bail for CL and company. What if Judge Bien concurs with Judge Cortez? This is the best that can happen for the CL camp. They will enjoy freedom until the final decision on the cases filed against them are promulgated. Question: Can Atty. Mallonga revert back to the previous strategy of seeking another inhibition this time addressed to Judge Bien? I don’t think so. Having two judges concurring will just be too difficult to contend with. Should Atty. Mallonga, including the Department of Justice, ask another inhibition, the defense can perhaps raise the issue of de facto forum shopping. It will be a maneuver that smacks of forum shopping, a creative one at that because I have not encountered an exactly the same situation in existing in Philippine jurisprudence. Forum shopping is a disallowed practice under the law. It is a situation where a litigant may invent pretexts to move his case from one court to another in the hope of finding a judge who is perceived to be more sympathetic to his cause and render a more favourable judgement. Now, here’s an interesting scenario: Suppose Judge Bien disagrees with Judge Cortez and decides to cancel the bail, will that be a conclusive victory, as far as the issue of bail is concerned, for Atty. Mallonga and the prosecution? I don’t think so. Having two judges disagreeing on their determination of the strength of evidence for serious illegal detention will not automatically result to a conclusion that the evidence for SID is strong. It should be the opposite – with two judges disagreeing, then the evidence is NOT THAT STRONG. The defense can appeal an adverse ruling from Judge Bien and if that proves to be futile, then perhaps a petition for certiorari might be in order. That should be doubly interesting. Outside of appreciating the arguments and counter-arguments from two judges, I think that the FACT alone that two judges are disagreeing is in itself an evidence that the case for SID is not that strong. Hence CL and his group are entitled to bail. As I said before, no matter where you look at it, CL and his camp have already won a tactical if not a strategic victory on the question of bail with the decision of Judge Cortez. Even now, in anticipation of any adverse ruling from Judge Bien, the defense can prepare for the next salvo. I feel sorry for Atty. Alma Mallonga. Her task seems to involve proving that apples are oranges.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 03:19:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015