Judge quits Subic land case after he was sued

OLONGAPO CITY—The judge who ordered a Japanese firm in the Subic Bay Freeport to suspend construction work on its manufacturing plant has inhibited himself from the case after he was sued for graft in the Supreme Court and the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the case involving the Japanese firm.

Judge Richard Paradeza, of the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court (RTC), on Wednesday inhibited himself from hearing the case filed by Mobi and Red Enterprises against Japanese firm Cresc Inc., Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and Subic Coastal Development Corp. (SCDC) and their officials.

Mobi and Red Enterprises, owned by the daughter of former Zambales Gov. Vicente Magsaysay, is claiming a one-hectare land at Moonbay Marina Leisure Resort.

Cresc Inc., a consumable printer manufacturer based in Japan, has started building a plant and office on the same land it subleased from SCDC, developer of the 16.5-ha Moonbay Marina Leisure Resort.

Paradeza, however, issued a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) sought by Mobi and Red Enterprises ordering Cresc Inc. on Nov. 11 to suspend the construction.

SCDC, through lawyer Bonifacio Alentajan, on Wednesday filed a motion of inhibition against Paradeza, citing the criminal complaint that SCDC filed in the Office of the Ombudsman and the Supreme Court against the judge for the alleged “violation of the antigraft and corrupt practices act, and for knowingly rendering an unjust decision.”

In his motion, Alentajan said Paradeza “is no longer qualified to participate in the instant case because he has lost the ‘cold neutrality’ of an impartial judge.”

Paradeza immediately inhibited himself from the case after reading the motion filed by SCDC.

“The court, in view of the filing of the complaint against the presiding judge, acts favorably on the motion filed by the defendant in order to avoid the perception of bias,” Paradeza said in his order, which was released after the hearing.

The clerk of court raffled off the case, which eventually went to RTC Judge Raymond Viray.

In his affidavit, Magsaysay, who represented Mobi and Red Enterprises, said he entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with SCDC and SBMA in 2008 that would allow him to enter into a sublease contract with SBMA.

Under the MOA, SCDC agreed to cede to SBMA its leasehold rights to the 1-ha portion of the leased premises.

However, the MOA was never approved. It did not bear the signature of Armand Arreza, former SBMA administrator and one of the parties in the MOA.

SCDC officials earlier said the MOA “clearly stated that within 30 days from the execution of the MOA, SBMA and Magsaysay agreed to execute a contract of lease with respect to the ceded portion.”

Based on the MOA, SCDC officials said, Magsaysay must secure the approval of SBMA on the terms and conditions of the MOA because otherwise, the supposed ceded area would revert back to SCDC.