Injunctive Relief Update

United BF Homeowners’ Associations, Inc. (UBFHAI) President Celso Reyes informed the association members in an open letter what transpired in the hearing of the Motion for Reconsideration of the Preliminary Injunction against Parañaque City. His statement follows [slightly edited for brevity]:

We went to the 10 May hearing with our counsel the Siguion Reyna Monticello Ongsiako Law Office and the Law Firm of Jacinto, Wui, Magtanong, and Uy, who are officially representing the Association in the case. They were prepared to argue on the merits of the injunction and why it should not be lifted. Instead, we were treated to something else.

Justice Martin Villarama, Chairman of the 8th Division, opened the hearing with the disclosure that Atty. Romeo Robiso went to see him in his chambers [office]. He informed those present in Court that he admitted him (Robiso) only because he was a former co-professor in the MLQU. [It is unethical to entertain a party to a case in private without the presence of the other party]. He also disclosed that Mrs. Elbinias, wife of a retired Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals, also came to see him in his chambers. They (Robiso and Mrs. Elbinias) were then directed to tell the people in the courtroom what they told him exactly in his chambers.

Atty. Robiso thus disclosed that he went to see the justice with copies of the letters circulating in BF and an alleged voucher for P2 Million because of the perception that the amount went to the Court of Appeals. Mrs. Elbinias is a resident of Tahanan Village where Mayor Bernabe also resides.

The undersigned was then asked to comment on what Atty. Robiso and Mrs. Elbinias said. He explained that the voucher, a photocopy, is not the same as the original in our file, that the P2 Million check was issued to him upon authority of the Board for the injunction secured on 27 October 2005; that it was paid to the Siguion Reyna Law Office according to the contract signed with them in September 2005 and duly receipted; that the Association actually spent more than P2 Million in lawyers’ fees. The Siguion Reyna Law Firm confirmed to the Court that they received the amount of P2 Million as fees under our contract.

We were asked if P2 Million was an ordinary expense for the Association. We said it was an extraordinary expense for an extraordinary situation where our gates were opened, our deposits garnished by the BIR and our source of funds drying up, such that in December, we had to let go of most of our staff and moved operations to one room. We also told the Court we found out that the directors who circulated those letters were involved with the opening of the roads and the garnishment of our funds.

It became apparent that the letters were not the only subject of those strange visits, because the undersigned was also asked if he has a house in Ayala Alabang (none), if he is a customs broker (no, but he owns a customs brokerage), how long has been President, matters personal and of no relation to the injunction, tending only to cast aspersion on his reputation.

Atty. Robiso was directed by the Court to prepare an executive summary of what transpired in that hearing and to cause its distribution to all residents of BF Homes within 10 days from date. The Court wanted it known by all in no uncertain terms that none of the justices in the Division received anything or any amount in connection with the Injunction. Indeed, none of them did, but those letters and flyers from its phantom sources caused far ranging damage to both the Court and UBFHAI.

Our lawyers have filed Oppositions to both Motions for Reconsideration and with respondents’ manifestation in Court that they were not filing any reply, the matters were considered submitted for resolution. We have likewise filed a motion to cite Mayor Florencio Bernabe, Jr. and the Parañaque Police in contempt for openly defying the injunction (his guards are still at the gates), which will be resolved by the Court as soon as all responsive pleadings are filed.

As member associations of UBFHAI, and further to your concerns aired in the Presidents Meeting of 22 April 2006, we owe you this information, without pre-empting the report of Atty. Romeo Robiso who was directed by the Court of Appeals to circulate to all the people in BF Homes.

Finally, your Board is pleased to inform that the garnishment of funds, lawyers’ fees and the expenses we had to shoulder in connection with the opening of our roads in August 2005 notwithstanding, the restricted funds of the Association [construction bonds, deposits], which is intact to this day, was never touched. Other administrations had to borrow from those funds towards the end of the year.

Your Board assures that it has not stopped working on the returning control of our Parañaque and Las Piñas gates within the bounds of law, at the same time it is closely attending to the incipient water problem and the turn-over of the water system to us or to the MWSS. We have a standing Motion for Execution Pending Appeal in the HLURB for the turnover of the water system to UBFHAI.

We shall keep you posted on further developments on all matters relating our lives in BF Homes. God bless.