THE Court of Appeals Special 5th division has canceled the hearing on the contempt case filed by Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV following the inhibition of one of its justices.
Associate Justice Ma. Luisa Quijano Padilla inhibited from the case because she is a member of the appeals court’s ethics committee tasked to investigate the allegations made by Trillanes that two associate justices received up to P50 million in bribes in exchange for issuing ruling stopping the suspension of Mayor Binay.
The appeals court will conduct another raffle for a justice that would fill the vacant slot in the division.
Trillanes earlier implicated in what he called “justice for sale” scam two of the three members of the Court of Appeals Sixth Division: Justices Jose Reyes Jr. and Francisco Acosta, chair and senior member of the division.
Reyes, Acosta and the division’s junior member, Justice Eduardo Peralta, issued the temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction stopping the Office of the Ombudsman from suspending Binay, who is being investigated in the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Parking Building II.