THE Court of Appeals has sustained its April 2016 decision dismissing the appeal for protection order by former Iglesia ni Cristo worker Lowell Menorca and his family.
In a three-page resolution, the CA’s 7th Division stressed that petitioners Anthony, brother of Lowell and sister-in-law Jungko Otsuka failed to raise new issues in their motion for reconsideration that would warrant a reversal of their earlier decision.
“After due consideration, it has become manifestly clear that petitioners’ arguments are mere reiterations of points and issues which were discussed and addressed in the Resolution sought to be reconsidered and since no new matter and argument had been raised, we find no cogent reason to justify the modification, amendment or reversal of our ruling,” stated the resolution penned by Associate Justice Victoria Isabel A. Paredes.
The appellate court pointed out that it would not determine question that have already become moot and academic “because there is no longer any justiciable controversy to speak of.”
“The judgment will not serve any useful purpose or have any practical legal effect because, in the nature of things, it cannot be enforced,” the resolution said.
The petition was filed in October last year after Menorca and his family were taken and allegedly detained by INC after he was suspected of being Antonio Ebanghelista, the blogger who has been writing against INC.
The INC sought the dismissal of the petition pointing out that the Menorca family is already out of the CA’s jurisdiction.
Menorca and his family left for Vietnam last March after they receive a threat to the life of their two-year old daughter—a family photo with the face of their daughter marked with an “X” inserted in their vehicles’ windshield.
In its April 2016 decision, the CA ruled that the departure of Menorca and his family was the “supervening event” that rendered the case moot and academic.
“Here, the supervening event is the Menorca family’s leaving the country; and since they are supposedly the only true beneficiaries of the instant petition, proceeding with the case would merely waste the valuable time and resources of the court,” CA stressed.
“The actual substantial relief which the petitioner would be entitled to, i.e. the preservation of the right to life, liberty and security afforded by the writ of amparo cannot be enforced beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the Court,” the decision said.
The CA added that the cases filed against Menorca—libel, adultery, among others—cannot be considered a threat.
Associate Justices Magdangal M. de Leon and Elihu A. Ybañez concurred with the ruling.