Makati responds

We write in response to a column of Mr. Ramon Tulfo published in the July 19, 2022 issue of your paper.

In the said item, Mr. Tulfo mentioned the case of Ms. Modesta Sobeniano. Contrary to the claims made by Mr. Tulfo, the undersigned and the city administrator have written her on separate occasions, explaining clearly that neither the city government nor the mayor has authority over the judicial actions and decisions made by the Courts.

In her letters, Ms. Sobeniano sought the Mayor’s intervention to compel the Ritz Tower Condominium Association to restore the water connection of her unit, citing a court order in the case entitled “Modesta R. Sobeniano vs the Board of Directors of the Ritz Tower Condominium Association, Inc. et al.” docketed as Civil Case No. 15-1415.

Unfortunately for Ms. Sobeniano, the court subsequently issued the following orders against her and her claims: (1) Order dated 18 April 2017 dismissing the petition filed by Ms. Sobeniano, (2) Order dated 25 April 2017 denying the Motion for Reconsideration filed by Ms. Sobeniano, (3) Order dated 11 October 2019 denying the Urgent Manifestation and Motion to Reconnect the Water Supply of 901A filed by Ms. Sobeniano.

It bears noting that the court, in its Order dated 19 October 2019, not only affirmed the finality of the dismissal of the petition filed by Ms. Sobeniano, but also ordered her to desist and refrain from filing any other motions, or risk being cited in contempt.

The Orders cited above supersede the Order dated 5 May 2016 cited by Ms. Sobeniano in her letters.

Any questions that Ms. Sobeniano may have pertaining to the effects of said orders are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts.

The city government has no legal basis nor legal personality to intervene in a legal controversy between private individuals that is pending, and in this case already decided by, the court.

It is regrettable that Mr. Tulfo has chosen to publish his faulty presumptions without prior verification of the facts.

– ATTY. MICHAEL ARTHUR R. CAMIÑA, City Spokesperson/Head, Law Department, City Government of Makati