Abalos lawyer faces jail time

Former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. INQUIRER file photo

The lawyer of former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos has 10 days to respond to a Pasay City court’s resolution holding him and Abalos in contempt—or he just might find himself in jail with his client.

On December 27, the court hearing the electoral sabotage case against Abalos and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, among others, mailed out its resolution holding Abalos and his lawyer, Brigido Dulay, in contempt for having accused Pasay Regional Trial Court Judge Jesus

Mupas of extortion during a hearing last month.

Abalos and Dulay face fines of P2,000 and 10 days imprisonment each. While Abalos, who is already in detention at the Southern Police District headquarters, may only have to pay the fine, Dulay has 10 days to stave off an arrest warrant.

A legal researcher in Mupas’ court, Felda Domingo, said Mupas decided that the statements Abalos and Dulay made at a December 16 hearing—during which they filed a motion for inhibition against the judge—were “malicious, offensive and insulting not only to the integrity of the court but also the judiciary” and were made in a “scandalous and embarrassing manner.”

In their motion for inhibition, Abalos and Dulay had accused Mupas of sending two emissaries to Abalos to offer him a favorable ruling in exchange for P100 million, Domingo said.

But Abalos’ camp failed to substantiate the extortion attempt when they were given the chance to do so, Domingo said.

In his resolution, Mupas also asked the National Bureau of Investigation and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to investigate Abalos’ extortion story. He gave the two agencies 30 days to submit a report.

The motion for inhibition against Mupas has yet to be resolved. The next hearing on the electoral sabotage case against Abalos and Arroyo has been set for January 9.