BAGUIO CITY — A municipal trial court judge in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija has recalled the subpoena he issued against two Baguio City Hall employees for indirect contempt charges before his courtroom.
In his order dated November 18, which the Baguio City legal office received on November 20, Judge Nelson Largo canceled the subpoena and a hearing set on November 29.
The order pertains to the alleged indirect contempt comiitted against Largo by Baguio City traffic enforcer Bernard Batnag and his chief who was not named in the subpoena.
“Considering that necessary documents had already been forwarded to the Court and finding the same to be meritorious, the required explanation is now deemed mooted. The subpoena and scheduled hearing on November 29, 2019 is hereby canceled,” it read.
The issue stemmed from the issuance of a traffic citation ticket against Largo and the removal and confiscation of his car’s license plate vehicle in Baguio City on October 25 in violation of illegal parking and the city’s coding ordinance.
After several days, the Cabanatuan judge issued Batnag and his chief a subpoena, prompting the Baguio City government to bring the matter to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ordered Largo to explain the alleged arrogance he committed when he issued a show-cause order against the two city employees.
Largo earlier noted that the act of the Baguio City employees caused delay in his work, prompting him to charge them with indirect contempt and order them to appear before his court in Cabanatuan.
Due to the incident, the Baguio City Council passed a resolution declaring Largo as persona non grata.
“That is but the proper way to do it. As a judge, siguro na-realize niya na nagkamali siya (perhaps he realized that he committed a mistake) and the only way to do it is to rectify and recall the order. That’s the best the Judge had done,” Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan said in an interview.
Asked if the city would lift the persona non grata declaration, Olowan said in the Ilocano dialect, “If he would come and own up to his mistake and promise not to do it again, why not? Let us give him another chance. We are just human beings.”
He said so long as no major harm has been done and Largo is sincere in his apologies, the declaration could be lifted.
“It is not just the city council he needs to apologize to, but he needs to tell the people of Baguio that he committed a mistake and he is sorry for that,” he said.
Olowan, a lawyer himself, earlier said officers of the court should abide by ethical standards. **PNA
