THE counsel of Mabolo Barangay Captain Niña Mabatid has threatened to withdraw from the quo warranto petition lodged against the neophyte village chief if the latter would fail to show up during the rescheduled trial on Monday, July 30.
Mabatid was supposed to take the witness stand during the last day of the hearings yesterday to prove that she is still a resident of Mabolo despite owning a home in barangay Talamban.
But the newly elected barangay captain skipped the trial because she “needed time” to decide whether or not she will run for the ABC presidency.
Lawyer Delon Urot, Mabatid’s counsel, asked Presiding Judge Monalila Tecson of the Branch 1 of the Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCC) to reset the hearing to Monday, the same day as the election of ABC officers.
Yesterday, July 26, was also the last day of the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the election of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) officers for Cebu City Chapter.
At 12 noon, Mabatid filed her COC for ABC president at the office of incumbent ABC President Phillip Zafra. Running as her vice president is Mambaling village chief Gines Abellana.
“She can cast her vote and immediately proceed here for the trial,” Urot told reporters after the trial was adjourned.
Urot said that his vow to withdraw from the case was his way to assure the court that Mabatid would finally show up and explain her side personally.
The quo warranto petition against Mabatid was filed by her opponent Daniel Francis Arguedo.
Arguedo claimed that Mabatid, though a registered voter in Mabolo, is not an actual resident of the barangay, but of a subdivision in Barangay Talamban.
The 6-day trial on the petition started last week and would have ended yesterday.
Mabatid’s camp has presented four witnesses during the trials on Tuesday and Wednesday and was supposed to put Mabatid on the witness stand yesterday.
Mabatid has already submitted a 12-page judicial affidavit to the court but her testimony will be dispensed by the court if she will still fail to show up on Monday’s rescheduled trial.
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