ibetph Cebu court orders detention, fine for mayor over disobedience

A Cebu City Regional Trial Court (RTC) finds a mayor guilty of indirect contempt for defying an order to remove barricades blocking access to a local supermarket built on a lot leased by the municipal government. INQUIRER.net stock images

CEBU CITY — A Regional Trial Court (RTC) has found a mayor guilty of indirect contempt for defying an order to remove barricades blocking access to a local supermarket built on a lot leased by the municipal government.

Mayor Teresa Alegado of Consolacion town in north Cebu was facing both incarceration and fine for disobeying a court order to remove the barricades at Fooda Saversmart.

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“Given by the circumstances of the case and the prayers of the petitioners, this court finds that she should be indefinitely incarcerated for disobeying the assailed writ until such time she is able to comply with the same,” said Judge Merlo Bagano of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 14 in Cebu City.

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“On the alternative, if the respondent mayor has already complied with the assailed writ, she shall be penalized for a fine of P30,000,” the judge added.

READ: Court finds Consolacion’s Nene Alegado guilty of indirect contempt

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Bagano’s decision was promulgated on Dec. 19, 2024, but copies of the ruling were secured by reporters only on Jan. 8.

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The Inquirer tried but failed to reach Alegado for a statement on Thursday, Jan. 9.

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But according to lawyer Paulo Sucalit, legal officer of Consolacion town, the mayor plans to file a motion for reconsideration to contest Bagano’s ruling.

Sucalit, in a statement, emphasized that the ruling was not yet final and that they would exhaust all legal remedies to challenge the decision.

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The case stemmed from a lease dispute between Alegado’s administration and Fooda Saversmart in 2023.

The supermarket owners alleged that local authorities had unjustly placed barricades around their leased property.

These barricades, they said, blocked access to the property and disrupted their operations.

READ: Mayor Alegado defends actions amid indirect contempt charges

The disputed lots, identified as Lot Numbers 604 and 11222, are located in Barangay Poblacion, Consolacion.

Fooda Saversmart, along with its president Patrick Ngochua, filed a petition for a writ of preliminary injunction to secure continuous access to the property.

The Cebu court eventually granted the petition and ordered the immediate removal of the barricades.

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However, Alegado did not follow the court’s directive, prompting Bagano to hold the mayor liable for indirect contempt.

Under the Rules of Court, a person is guilty of indirect contempt if he or she disobeys or resists a lawful writ, process, order, judgment, or command of the hearing officer.

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If the respondent is found guilty of indirect contempt, he or she may be punished by a fine not exceeding P30,000 or imprisonment of not more than six months or both.

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