FILE PHOTO
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – A trial court in Cebu City found Consolacion Mayor Teresa ‘Nene’ Alegado guilty of indirect contempt over a civil case filed by a local supermarket firm.
Branch 14 of the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City (RTC-Cebu City) found Alegado guilty of indirect contempt due to her alleged failure to comply with a court order regarding a disputed lease and the eviction of barricades at the Fooda Saversmart Corporation’s leased property.
The court promulgated its decision on December 19, 2024 but copies of the 12-page ruling was only furnished to members of the media on January 8, 2025.
It was signed by Presiding Judge Merlo Bagano.
Sought for their comments, lawyer Paulo Sucalit, the Municipal Legal Officer of Consolacion, on Wednesday said that they are scheduled to file a motion for reconsideration at the RTC Branch 14.
Sucalit also said they will ‘exhausting all legal remedies’ in the hopes of reversing the ruling.
“Dili pa man na final ang decision sa RTC, makita man sa decision nga upon finality wala pa man nay finality kay subject pa man na sa Motion for Reconsideration…Dili pa kaayo ta kacomment kay masubjudice kay pending case…Nakaestorya mi ni Mayor nga atoang i-exhaust ang tanang legal remedies,” he said.
The trial court recommended Alegado to pay a penalty of P30,000 if she has already complied with the writ of preliminary injunction. Otherwise, she will be incarcerated.
READ MORE
Construction to finally start for much-delayed Consolacion port
Consolacion Jail is 1st fully solar-powered prison in CV – warden
Background
The case stemmed from a lease dispute between Alegado’s administration and Fooda in 2023, in which the latter accused the former of ‘unjustly’ installing barricades around their leased premises, preventing them access to the property and causing significant disruptions to their business.
The lots in question were Lot Nos. 604 and 11222, situated in Brgy. Poblacion.
As a result, Fooda and its president, Patrick Ngochua, filed for a writ of preliminary injunction which will allow them to continually use the disputed area.
Branch 17 of the Cebu City eventually granted Fooda its petition, and also ordered the immediate removal of barricades.
According to court documents, the municipality was ordered to eliminate obstructions made of galvanized iron sheets that restricted entry and exit of rented lots.
However, the petitioners – in this case, Fooda and Ngochua – complained that Alegado failed to comply with the court order.
When law enforcement officials attempted to execute this order, the complainants reported that the mayor’s office maintained its position against compliance, citing ambiguous legal justifications related to resolutions concerning the lease agreement with the corporation, the latest ruling stated.
In turn, Fooda and Ngochua charged Alegado for indirect contempt.
During subsequent hearings, it was revealed that after the court’s order was issued, there were still fences erected at the contested property, it added.
For their part, Alegado’s camp argued that the writ was ‘erroneously directed against the mayor’, adding that she was not an officer of the court.
They also denied ‘contemptuous conduct or contumacious defiance’ against the court order, saying that her actions were in line with her public function as municipal mayor, backed by the municipal government’s twin resolutions that gave her authority in doing so.
But the trial court was not convinced.
They also pointed out to testimonies from witnesses for Fooda and Ngochua, like the court sheriff, who confirmed that Alegado’s administration resisted executing the court’s writ and even ordered additional barricades to be implemented.
“Moreover, facts of the case shows that respondent (Alegado) refused to comply with the assailed writ, although there was a partial removal of the fence, the roll-up doors were welded and padlocked,” Bagano wrote.
“Respondent likewise failed to show any justifiable reason why she has ignored the court’s orders,” the judge added. / mme