Pulupandan Mayor Magdaleno Peña yesterday said he has filed an urgent motion before the Supreme Court asking Justice Eduardo Nachura to disclose his family relationship and or personal ties with Marie Roxanne “Plinky” Recto.

Peña has been locked in a legal battle with Recto for custody of their 3-year-old son. In December, the Supreme Court ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to get the boy from Peña and turn him over to the custody of his mother, Recto, pending a lower court ruling on the matter.

Peña, who has not returned his son to Recto, said he left him abroad.

On Dec. 27, Recto filed an urgent omnibus motion before the SC seeking the issuance of a warrant of arrest for Peña for his failure to return her 3-year-old son to her.

The motion also asked the SC to exercise motu proprio its contempt power, to issue a hold-departure order against Peña and the boy, and direct the Philippine National Police and the NBI to enforce its Dec. 3 resolution for the turnover of the child to Recto, her lawyer Evalyn Ursua has said.

Ursua yesterday said their motion is still pending before the SC.

In his urgent motion received by the SC on Feb. 5 Peña also asked Nachura to disclosed his wife's family relationship as a blood relative of the Reyes, Sison, Cinco and Lucero families in order to determine whether or not he or his wife are related to respondent Recto.

He is also asking Nachura to disclose his previous and present relationship with Recto's brother, former Senator Ralph Recto, and his residential address in order to determine whether he and respondent are residents of the same subdivision at Loyola Heights in Quezon City .

Peña said he learned that Nachura is married to a certain Conchita “Chit” Lucero Sison, a native of Samar and now a businesswoman in Quezon City .

He said he learned that members of the Reyes family are related with the Sison, Cinco and Lucero families.

He said Recto's paternal grandmother, the late Aurora Reyes is from Catbalogan, Samar , and was the second wife of former Senator Claro Recto.

Peña, in his motion, said he was bringing the matter to the attention of the SC in order to eliminate all qualms and suspicions that he entertains against the independence and impartiality of Nachura to act on his case.

The New Code of Judicial Conduct states that “judges should disqualify themselves from participating in any proceedings in which they are unable to decide on the matter impartially or which it may appear to a reasonable observer that they are unable to decide the matter impartially.”

Such act of disclosure is material to the determination of the honorable justice's qualification to act as the ponente on the case between him and Recto, Peña said.

Peña said it was Nachura who penned the order for the NBI to get his son from him and turn him over to Recto.

Ursua said she would not comment on the urgent motion to disclosure filed by Peña because we don't know who the ponente is, that is supposed to be confidential.

The fact that he knows who the ponente is would be a breach of confidentiality and we leave it to the SC to act on the matter, Ursua said.*CPG

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