Board member, driver, fined for ringing cell phone
By Nestor P. Burgos Jr.
Visayas Bureau
First Posted 00:40:00 02/21/2008
ILOILO CITY – Forgetting to turn off their cell phones or put them in silent mode while attending a court hearing, a provincial board member and his driver had to shell out P200 each to pay a fine imposed by the judge.
Board Member Jett Rojas paid the fine on Tuesday after his cell phone rang during a hearing at the Iloilo Regional Trial Court Branch 66 in Barotac Viejo town, 64.4 kilometers north of here.
Rojas was attending a summary hearing on a petition for a temporary restraining order against the 2008 budget of the provincial government when his cell phone unexpectedly rang shortly after the hearing started at around 9 a.m.
The ringing annoyed Judge Danilo Amular who promptly reprimanded Rojas for not observing court rules that all phones be turned off or put in silent mode during hearings.
Amular initially ordered Rojas to pay a P500 fine. The board member apologized and asked the judge to lower the fine to P200, which the judge approved.
After the interruption, Amular resumed presiding over the deliberations, but shortly before the hearing ended at noon, another cell phone rang, startling the crowd.
While Amular checked the source of the noise, a man hurriedly left the courtroom, prompting the judge to summon him back. When the judge asked for his identity, the man was shown on TV footage sheepishly pointing at Rojas.
Ernie Galopo turned out to be the driver of Rojas, eliciting laughter from lawyers and others present at the room.
Amular was not amused. He reprimanded Galopo and ordered him to pay a P200 fine.
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