The Baguio Regional Trial Court (RTC) has removed Baguio Councilor Jose Molintas from acting as legal counsel to four Cordilleran activists challenging their being designated as terrorists in 2023 without due process or transparency.
RTC Branch 78 Judge Hilario Belmes’s removal of Molintas cites a rule where elected officials cannot participate in litigation against the government. The activists’ case is against the government, in particular the Anti-Terorism Council (ATC) that put the designation of terrorist upon them.
The removal of Molintas stemmed from a February 7 RTC order, addressing a petition by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and took effect prior to the resumption of the trial on Thursday, March 20.
Belmes, in the decision, said that the councilor remains bound by Title III, Section 90 of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of the Philippines. Said provision states that council members that are also members of the Bar cannot act as counsel in court in any civil case against a local government unit, or any office or agency of the government.
Belmes is set to rule on the petition for certiorari and prohibition and an appeal for a writ of preliminary injunction filed by the activists against Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who chairs the ATC, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona, who heads the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
