Torres wants judge to handle SRP lot proceeds case

AFTER he lost his bid to stop Cebu City from using income from the sale of  South Road Properties (SRP) lots,  former prosecutor Romulo Torres has asked another  judge to handle the case.

In a pleading prepared by his lawyer Janice Lape, Torres requested Judge Alexander Acosta of the Regional Trial Court Branch 9 in Cebu City to remand the case to Judge Generosa Labra who earlier chose to let go of the case.

Labra voluntarily inhibited herself from handling the case, saying Torres is a “close friend.”

But Torres said personal affiliation is not a valid ground for inhibition.

“The inhibition must be for just and valid causes. There is no sufficient ground for Judge Labra to voluntary inhibit herself from hearing this case,” Lape said.

Last week, Judge Acosta refused to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the Cebu City Council from appropriating funds using the P8.3 billion down payment the city had received from three developers of the SRP.

Torres earlier asked the court to stop the city from appropriating funds from the P8.3 billion it received from SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Lands Inc., and Filinvest Lands Inc.

He filed the suit in his capacity as a “citizen and taxpayer.”

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama was not impleaded in the case.

Torres said the money should not be spent nor appropriated by the city pending resolution of whether the mode of disposing the subject lots at the SRP by public bidding is valid.

He said Sangguniang Panglungsod Ordinance No. 2332 which protects the SRP from “unlawful and unauthorized transactions and dealings” excludes the sale or disposition of property in the SRP by public auction.