City legal office: Sue Alimaongs
The Cebu City legal office has recommended for the City Traffic Operations Management Office to file a criminal complaint against the Alimaong group for usurpation of judicial powers and functions of the National Commission on Indigenous People.
This was after CITOM acting head Rafael Christopher Yap endorsed to the city attorney the decision of the tribe’s “court” finding CITOM officers and employees “guilty of disrespecting or violating Republic Act 8371, the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997.”
In a legal opinion, City Attorney Jerone Castillo also recommended the filing of estafa charges against Kinatas-ang Kahugpungan Sa Kapupud-an-Alimaong, Higaonon Tribe, its tribal court, and their officers namely; Vicente Gonzales, Jr., Ramon Dela Cerna, Narciso Telamo, Jessie Benalles, Rufo Narval, Jr., Cecilia Agnes Indo, Benito Balontong, and Norberto Amen, for issuing the assailed summon.
Castillo said the group’s declaration is also “proof of deceit and misrepresentation in exercising the rights” of NCIP.
NCIP-Cebu Head Hazel Torrefiel earlier clarified that Kinatasang Kahugpungan Sa Kapupud-an Datu Alimaong group is not one of indigenous cultural communities that NCIP recognized in Region 6 and 7.
Torrefiel said only organic NCIP personnel or its duly appointed officers can enjoy official recognition as part of the agency in their official transactions,” she said.
Kinatas-ang Kahugpungan Sa Kapupud-an Datu Alimaong group imposed a penalty of perpetual disqualification to hold public office and a fine of P100,000 on each CITOM employee, allegedly in accordance with Sections 72 and 73 of RA 8371.
CITOM officials the group cited were Yap, Operations Chief Jonathan Tumulak, Legal Section’s Carlo Vincent Gimena, Traffic Aide I Renato Generoso and Roy Coronado, and Traffic Aide II Marilou Alferez.
The move came after CITOM issued a citation ticket to Mamerto Viral, one of the members of the tribe caught driving without a valid driver’s license, a crash helmet, and was without a valid registration of his motor vehicle last April 8.
The incident happened along M.J Cuenco Avenue, Cebu City and caused the impoundment of Viral’s motorcycle. Viral then filed a complaint before their tribe’s court.
“Said tribe, thru its tribal court, in conducting the assailed proceedings of said case, has been guilty of gross partiality and subjectivity in its own favor, as it, thru its concerned officers/members, appeared to have acted as a complainant prosecutor and judge all at the same time, thereby ultimately depriving the above CITOM officers/personnel of the true meaning of due process, which indispensably requires impartiality of the court,” read the legal opinion.
Castillo said the “judgment” was “hastily” rendered on April 14, which is the same date when the “tribal court” required the CITOM officers and employees to appear before it.
He said there is nothing in RA 8371 that exempts anybody, including the indigenous people, from complying with traffic laws, ordinances, and rules.
“The complaint filed by Viral and or said tribe is clearly unfounded, baseless, and self-serving because it is not even substantiated by any proof, warranting its outright dismissal,” read the legal opinion.
“Even granting for the sake of argument but without admitting that said tribe is duly accredited, registered/or recognized by NCIP, still Dadantulan, its tribal court, does not have jurisdiction over subject matter of the case and over the persons of said CITOM officers/personnel because they are not members of the above tribe,” it added.