The Court of Appeals (CA) on Friday appointed a new justice to fill the slot vacated by Associate Justice Maria Luisa Quijano-Padilla who inhibited from the contempt case filed by suspended Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
Associate Justice Ramon Garcia has been tasked to replace Associate Justice Quijano-Padilla.
On the other hand, the hearing on the contempt case has been rescheduled to Nov. 12.
Justice Quijano-Padilla on Thursday inhibited from the case because she is a member of the appeals court’s ethics committee tasked to investigate allegations made by Trillanes that two associate justices received up to P50 million in bribes in exchange for a stop order on the first preventive suspension of Binay.
READ: CA cancels hearing of contempt case filed by Junjun vs Trillanes
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.
READ: Trillanes names 2 CA justices in Binay TRO ‘sale’
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 preventively suspending Binay, who is being investigated in the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Parking Building II.