The Court of Appeals has ordered the Marikina City regional trial court to proceed with the trial of the qualified theft case filed by San Miguel Holdings Corp., the infrastructure arm of San Miguel Corp., against Indonesian businessman Shadik Wahono and several others.
This came after the CA’s Former Ninth Division through Associate Justice Sesinando Villon directed Presiding Judge Alice Gutierrez of Marikina City RTC, Branch 193, to recuse herself from hearing the qualified theft case filed by SMHC against Wahono and several others for showing bias and partiality in dismissing the complaint last year.
Because of this, the case against Wahono et al. would be heard by another Marikina RTC judge to be chosen by raffle, in accordance with the provision of the Rules of Court.
“Judge Gutierrez may not be legally prohibited from sitting in the case a quo. But there are suggestions, which are made of record that she is predisposed to act in favor of private respondents, or with bias or prejudice against petitioners,” the appellate court ruled.
“All told, Judge Gutierrez has displayed more than a hint of bias and partiality in the proceedings before the court a quo. It is only proper for her to inhibit herself from further presiding therein,” the CA said.
The CA’s ruling stemmed from the petition filed by San Miguel Holdings Corp. and Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp.’s seeking the reversal of Judge Gutierrez’s decision denying their motion for inhibition.
But during the pendency of the petition, Gutierrez issued an order on Oct. 25, 2017 dismissing the qualified theft complaint.
This prompted the appellate court to issue a writ of preliminary injunction early this year enjoining Gutierrez from implementing its order dismissing the qualified theft case.
The CA underscored that Gutierrez’s order had yet to attain finality, thus, an injunction might still be issued.
The appellate court held that the dismissal of the complaint against private respondents Shadik Wahono and Nadiya W. Stamboel, who are still at large, and acquitting private respondents Fema Christina Piramide-Sayson and Alvin Bugtas, did not necessarily render the actions taken by Gutierrez “fait accompli.”
“The Court cannot turn a blind eye to the timing of the issuance of these questioned orders which petitioners now submit to have been tainted with manifest bias…Like Caesar’s wife, a judge must be beyond suspicion and that she should maintain nothing less than cold neutrality and impartiality. Otherwise, the wisest course for a judge would be to disqualify herself,” the appellate court stressed.
Besides, the CA said based on its review of the case, there are valid grounds that warrant Judge Gutierrez’s recusal from the proceedings in the case.
In particular, the CA cited the July 18, 2016 pre-trial conference where she manifested a “degree of aversion or hostility” towards SMHC.
Based on the stenographic notes during the proceedings, the CA noted Judge Gutierrez was inclined to prevent SMHC’s participation in the case before the court by accepting as gospel truth the submission of the private respondents’ counsel that the latter did not have personality to participate in the proceedings because there was no civil aspect involved in the case.
“A judge’s official conduct should be free from the appearance of impropriety, and his personal behavior, not only upon the bench and in the performance of judicial duties, but also in his everyday life, should be beyond reproach,” the CA pointed out.
“Judges shall not knowingly, while a proceeding is before or could come before them, make any comment that might reasonably be expected to affect the outcome of such proceeding or impair the manifest fairness of the process,” it added.
Associate Justices Manuel Barrios and Renato Francisco concurred with the ruling.
Wahono and Stamboel were charged with qualified theft case before the Marikina City RTC for allegedly causing CMMTC, which was jointly owned then by the SMHC and Wahono, to make an unauthorized disbursement, which he then used to incorporate another company called Citra Central Expressway Corp.
The SMHC accused Wahono of alleged unauthorized disbursement of P50 million in funds of CMMTC, where both SMHC and Wahono were both major shareholders.