Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s husband was once connected to a Consunji-owned company, but had resigned 26 years ago.
Supreme Court (SC) Spokesman Theodore Te made the clarification on Friday (June 19) to dispel doubts on the chief justice’s capability to decide objectively on a case involving Consunji-owned DMCI Homes.
Te made the statement after reports claimed that Sereno and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio were lawyering for DMCI Homes to prevent an injunction from being issued against the construction of Torre De Manila.
During its session last Tuesday (June 16), the high court ruled to temporarily stop the construction of DMCI’s Torre de Manila and set oral arguments on the case on June 30.
Related: Supreme Court stops Torre de Manila construction
Sereno and Carpio were among the five justices who voted against the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) even without oral arguments.
DMCI will comply
Construction company DMCI Homes, on the other hand, said that it will comply with the SC order.
According to DMCI legal counsel Roel Pacio, workers assigned at Torre de Manila have already stopped working on the building’s construction.
DMCI has no plans of appealing the TRO order since oral arguments on the merits of the case have been set at the end of the month, Pacio added.
Word war
A word war, meanwhile, has ensued between Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and his predecessor, Alfredo Lim.
Lim said on Wednesday (June 17) that his administration approved the construction of Torre de Manila on the condition that it will only be 19 storeys high, but Estrada called the former mayor a liar.
Estrada showed reporters copies of the building permit issued by Lim’s administration in July 2012, which authorized DMCI to build a 49-storey building.
The incumbent Manila mayor also provided copies of City Ordinance 8310 — supposedly approved on March 21, 2013.
But about three weeks later, Lim allegedly vetoed the ordinance, which would have allowed the city government to regulate any construction that would ruin the view of any historical or cultural site.
“Now do you see why he vetoed it? So he can justify the issuance of the permit. He provided all that and now he’s saying that the building was only supposed to have 17 floors. But you can clearly see that it indicated 49 floors and he signed it (the document),” Estrada said.
Meanwhile, Estrada admitted the DMCI building would bring in additional revenues to the city of Manila.
But he said the Manila City Hall will have no choice but to comply should the high court order the condominium building’s demolition.
