The 1-Pacman party-list group should decide whether it will nominate a new representative in Congress now that Rep. Michael “Mikee” Romero, who is facing arrest for qualified theft and is considered a fugitive from justice. Romero also has not attended the sessions of the House of Representative since early this year.
House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas said it is 1-Pacman party list’s call if it will elect a new representative in Congress as replacement of Romero, who went on hiding after Judge Cicero D. Jurado Jr. of the Manila City Regional Trial Court ordered his arrest on Jan. 6, 2017 and subsequently denied his motion for the suspension of the warrant of arrest last Feb. 6.
If the party-list decides so, Fariñas said the leadership of the House of Representatives will act accordingly.
“That’s the call of the 1-Pacman party list and the HOR will act accordingly if and when it does,” Fariñas said.
Some lawmakers said that Romero no longer deserves to be in the roster of House members as he is not functioning at all as legislator after he went on hiding following the warrant of arrest issued against him by the Manila City RTC.
The arrest order stemmed from the case of qualified theft involving some P3.4 million that Romero and two others had been accused of stealing from the family-owned Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI) in a complaint filed by the firm through lawyer Jerome Canlas.
Qualified theft is a non-bailable offense if the stolen amount is P222,000 or more.
Romero has failed to submit himself physically to the jurisdiction of the Manila Regional Trial Court since last Feb. 6 after the court quashed his motion to suspend the execution of his warrant of arrest.
The Manila RTC subsequently issued an order on Feb. 27 denying the urgent motion for reconsideration filed by Romero and Edwin Jeremillo, former chief operating officer of HCPTI.
In a ruling penned by Judge Jurado, the court said: On a final note, a review of’ the Urgent Motion for Reconsideration showed that the grounds relied upon in the same are mere reiterations of the matters already considered and passed upon in this Court’s Omnibus Order, and that the arguments raised therein are too unsubstantial to warrant a reconsideration thereof.
“Considering that this Court has already issued a warrant of arrest after finding probable cause, there is no need to further hear the issue on the motion to withdraw information. This Court, therefore, find no cogent reason to modify or reverse the Omnibus Order. Discussing again now the ratio decidendi of this Court’s order would belabor the issues ad infinitum.
Branch Clerk of Court Julie Aylene D. Mendoza had earlier endorsed the warrant of arrest to the Philippine National Police and its district offices, and to the National Bureau of Investigation for enforcement, both are now after Romero.
Aside from Romero and Jeremillo, also accused of the same offense is former HCPTI cashier Felicia T. Aquino, who has petitioned the Court of Appeals for certiorari and prohibition.
The court said that Romero’s physical avoidance of prosecution is synonymous to “flight”, which according to a DoJ prosecutor, is “the act of evading the course of justice by voluntarily withdrawing oneself to avoid arrest or detention or the institution or continuance of criminal proceedings; It is usually interpreted as an indication of guilt.”
In a resolution that led to the filing of the criminal cases before the court, the Manila Prosecutors’ Office said Romero, Aquino, and Jeremillo conspired in 2007 to issue 18 checks in one day, with each bearing the amount of P200,000 supposedly for “marketing expenses” and payable to National Food Authority or Felicia Aquino.
“This cannot be done. Doing so indicates badges of felony. No document whatsoever was submitted by the respondents showing transaction between HCPTI (Harbour Centre Port Terminal, Inc.) and the NFA [National Food Authority],” the resolution stated.
On Sept. 5, 2016, the DOJ filed a motion to withdraw the information (criminal charge sheet) against the three accused.
But in its Feb. 27 order, Judge Jurado overruled the DoJ motion and insisted that there was probable cause to issue a warrant of arrest.
In issuing the arrest order, Judge Jurado cited a Supreme Court ruling that “once the court acquires jurisdiction, any other proceeding in another agency will have no bearing on the court’s actions on the case, strictly stated, the court has already acquired jurisdiction.”
Jurado also pointed out that the City Prosecutor of Manila issued on July 1, 2016 a resolution recommending the filing of qualified theft cases against Romero, Aquino and Jeremillo “for which no bail was recomm