The IBP story; another version (1)

ENQUIRY

DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

The IBP story; another version (1)
Sunday, 08 16, 2009

At the Kapihan sa Sulo yesterday, a group of lawyers concerned over the series of articles in another daily by former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, circulated their own version of the events leading to the present controversy over the leadership of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP). Here is their story:

“While the science, art and business of law have always been rooted in semantics, its wisdom and nobility lies only in truth. And though words can be interpreted, re-interpreted and twisted, the certainty of facts cannot be taken to mean any other way.

“With the many legal issues that have been plaguing the leadership of the IBP, what once were clear waters have been turned murky.

“But there is a story that is rarely being told. Because rather than resorting to empty rhetoric and flamboyant displays in the spotlight, it has chosen to take shelter in the remedies that the law has provided for, and quietly follow the path laid out by the justice system. It is the story based on truth, supported by documents, and sustained by the letter of the law. And it all begins with a correspondence.

“The whole IBP leadership squabble began with a flurry of Board resolutions and memos set into motion by a letter dated April 15, 2009 sent by Victoria Loanzon, two days before the meeting of the IBP Board of Governors (BOG). In her letter, Loanzon was seeking clarification on the application of the IBP By-laws with regard to chapters with more than one delegate.

“It has to be understood that the Governors are elected by region as represented by the different chapters. Each chapter has a designated number of delegates. The delegates are chapter members in good standing and are elected by the chapter officers. Once elected as delegates, they, in turn, vote for the Governor.

“The BOG consists of nine Governors representing the different regions of the country, and the IBP National President. The President presides over meetings but is the lone member of the BOG with no voting powers. The Governors do not vote for a president. Instead, they vote for an Executive Vice President (EVP) who automatically assumes the presidency after two years.

“Loanzon’s query came as a surprise to many, for two reasons: 1) The By-laws clearly states that additional delegates “shall be elected by the Board of Officers of the Chapter from among the general membership who are in good standing to include the remaining duly elected officers and members of the Board.”; and 2) Loanzon was a former chapter president and should have been knowledgeable of the By-laws. Furthermore, the tradition of allowing non-officers to be elected as delegates has been practiced in all of the past elections and has never been questioned until that letter of Loanzon.

“During the April 17, 2009 meeting of the BOG, a resolution providing that “…in case of Chapters entitled to more than two delegates… the additional delegates shall be elected by the Board of Officers of the Chapter only from among the remaining duly elected officers and members of the Board” was proposed for adoption. Three of the five governors in attendance – Magsino, Ramon Edison Batacan and Carlos Valdez Jr. – voted in favor of the resolution. Evergisto Escalon voted against it. Raymund Jorge Mercado initially abstained, but eventually in favor of it.

“Realizing the impact of the resolution on the impending elections as well as its gross violation of the By-laws, five members of the BOG repeatedly requested IBP National President Feliciano Bautista to call for an emergency meeting to discuss the controversial resolution. Bautista chose to ignore the requests and refused to call for a meeting.

“On April 23, 2009, a special meeting of the BOG was held to resolve the same issue, despite Bautista’s inaction. The By-laws allows for a special meeting as long as five members are in attendance. Present were EVP Rogelio Vinluan, Abelardo Estrada, Bonifacio Barandon Jr., Escalon, and Mercado.

“The five unanimously voted to recall the April 17 resolution, stating that it was not a mere resolution but was an amendment to the By-laws since it limits the election of delegates where no such limitations existed before. And according to the By-laws, only the Supreme Court can make amendments to the By-laws.

“In response, Bautista issued a memorandum on April 23, 2009 to the members of the BOG wherein the non-voting member effectively overruled the decision made by five voting members of the Board. Bautista upheld the April 17 resolution which Magsino faithfully carried out during the April 25 election.

“During the election for the Greater Manila Region Governor, Magsino called the Quezon City Chapter Board meeting held on April 23 illegal and declared the election of the QC Chapter delegates who were non-officers as null. When asked to clarify, Magsino confirmed that delegates should be both qualified (meaning, a Chapter officer) and elected by the Chapter Board to be a delegate. While both Loanzon and Laqui were officers, neither was elected by the Chapter Board of Quezon City to represent them as delegates for the election.

“Despite being informed repeatedly by Quezon City Chapter president Tranquil Salvador III that Loanzon and Laqui were not elected delegates, Magsino still declared them as official representatives and allowed them to vote. Loanzon and Laqui were known supporters of Manuel Maramba, one of the candidates for Governor.

“Maramba received 13 votes to Elpidio Soriano III’s 12. The latter filed a protest to nullify the April 25 elections on the grounds that: 1) That non-delegates were allowed to vote; 2) That the IBP Quezon City Chapter’s choice of regular delegates was illegally supplanted by outgoing GMR Governor Magsino; 3) and, that the election was conducted with premeditated gross partiality on the part of Magsino.

[to be continued tomorrow. Ed]

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