Eight Bacolod City officials asked the Regional Trial Court to deny the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prayed for by the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. in the case it filed against the passage of City Ordinance 454, or the “takeover” ordinance.

Defendants Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, Councilors Al Victor Espino, Dindo and Kevin Daniel Ramos, Homer Bais, Greg Gasataya, Celia Flor and Roberto Rojas, in their answer yesterday, also asked the court to dismiss the case outright and uphold the validity of C.O. 454.

BREDCO, represented by its president Simplicio Palanca, had filed the case last month against the city, Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Sayson, Espino, Dindo and Kevin Ramos, Bais, Gasataya, Flor and Rojas.

It asked the court to declare City Ordinance 454 null and void for being unconstitutional, violative of pertinent provisions of the New Civil Code, violative of, and non-compliant with pertinent provisions of the Local Government Code.

Dindo Ramos said BREDCO is not entitled to the TRO and preliminary injunction it prayed for, not having the legal capacity to sue, and not being the real party in interest. He said BREDCO is not operating the port and will not be in any way affected by whatever the judgment of the case.

The defendants said the RTC has no jurisdiction to grant a TRO or preliminary in junction involving government infrastructure projects based on R.A. 8975.

They said there was nothing unconstitutional in the passage of C.O. 454 and that this was validly passed by the Vice Mayor and SP since the Local Government Code and its Implementing Rules and Regulations are silent on how many votes are required to pass an ordinance on second reading.

The defendants, who are being represented by Dindo Ramos and former Councilor Lyndon Caña, also asked the court to find BREDCO's right to reclaim as having died a natural death upon the lapse of the period contained in Art. 1(a) of the memorandum of agreement of 2000. That right has expired last Feb. 22, 2007 since BREDCO has not completed the project and there was no extension or renewal of that authority, they added.

They said the city has every power and authority to protect its right to undertake reclamation activities and the port built on its foreshore, and exercise that authority by the passage of a city ordinance for that purpose, in which case, is C.O. 454.

They added that there is no taking of the port by the city through C.O. 454 because the port belongs to the city under Art. IX of the Comprehensive Revised Reclamation Agreement between the city and BREDCO.

Dindo Ramos said they are also asking for the dismissal of the case against his son, Kevin, the Sangguniang Kabataan representative, since he cannot be held criminally, administratively and civilly liable for his act considering that he is a minor.

Ramos said they believe the case filed against them has no basis and is not meritorious that is why they filed a counter claim of P1 million each for moral damages.

Meanwhile, City Legal Officer Allan Zamora, who represents the city and the Mayor, had also filed a motion for preliminary hearing of the special and affirmative defenses Friday asking the court to dismiss the case, citing that the complainant does not state a cause of action as it is not a real party in interest, and has no legal capacity to sue.*CGS

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