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Inhibit Guimbal judge, CA asked

Nine provincial board members yesterday asked the Court of Appeals to stop Judge Teodolo A. Colada of the Regional Trial Court based in Guimbal, Iloilo from continuing to hear the civil case filed by the so-called 'conscience bloc' in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to derail the P100-million loan with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

In an 18-page petition, the board members said Colada committed 'grave abuse of discretion' in handing down a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Vice Governor Roberto Armada and Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo 'Boy' Cabado to stop them from signing a resolution that ratified the loan agreement between the Province and Land Bank.

The petition for certiorari, TRO and injunction was filed yesterday by provincial lawyer Teofisto 'Pet' Melliza and board member Niel C. Tupas, Jr. before the Court of Appeals in Cebu City. The case will be raffled on Monday.

The majority-bloc board members said Colada displayed apparent bias and partiality as he conducted a 'charade' during the hearing for the TRO on Oct. 27 by preventing their counsels from presenting their own evidence and turned down their motion for inhibition against him.

They asked the CA to dissolve the TRO and force Colada to inhibit himself from the case.

'(Colada) never gave herein petitioners the opportunity to cross-examine exhaustively the respondents' witnesses, and much less, present a single witness and offer evidence,' the petitioners alleged through their counsels, Atty. Salvador Cabaluna III and Melliza.

The case was filed before the RTC in Guimbal by board members Emmanuel R. Gallar, Bernardo Silla, Macario Napulan and Licurgo Tirador.

Gallar and company are asking Colada to nullify the loan agreement between the Province of Iloilo and Land Bank for alleged defects in the contract, a claim that provincial officials are disputing.

'This is an effort to derail the acquisition of heavy equipment that are badly needed for the repair and maintenance of our roads,' Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel 'Boy' Mejorada said.

The P100-million loan is intended to finance the purchase of brand-new heavy equipment for the Provincial Engineers Office (PEO).

In their petition, the nine board members --- Rodolfo Cabado, Domingo Oso, Niel Tupas Jr., Cecilia Capadosa, Romeo Palmares Sr., Eric Barbosa Sr., Angel Briones, Jeneda Salcedo and Lilia Gonzales --- charged Colada with undue haste and bias in dealing with the case.

'There was no hearing to speak of,' they claimed. 'All that transpired was a charade.'

The petitioners also assailed Colada's persistence in hearing the case despite the existing enmity between them arising from the administrative case some of them had filed against the RTC judge. The case is pending before the Supreme Court.

'The Supreme Court time and again has reaffirmed the dictum that it is not enough for a judge to be impartial,' they pointed out. 'He or she must also be above suspicion of partiality,' they added, citing a long string of High Court decisions.