RTC denies city hall’s motion
LNU’S TAX EXEMPTION
THE LIM administration suffered a new legal setback when its motion for reconsideration on the decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in favor of Lyceum Northwestern University (LNU), under petitioner Educational and Medical Development Corporation, over business taxes being collected from the latter was denied by the court.
In a resolution promulgated by RTC Judge Genoveva Coching-Maramba dated December 20, 2012, she also denied the motion of respondents City of Dagupan, Mayor Benjamin Lim and City Treasurer Romelita Alcantara seeking to inhibit her from hearing their motion for reconsideration.
Sought to be reversed by the petitioners was Maramba’s decision that declared as null and void Section 109 (h) and (i) of the Revenue Code of Dagupan City, including the motion for reconsideration filed by the plaintiff LNU represented by Gonzalo Duque praying that the decision be modified in that the Revenue Code of Dagupan be declared ineffective for failure of the respondents to comply with the mandatory requirement of publication.
As to the respondents’ motion seeking her inhibition, Maramba wrote that “after going over the records of the case at bench, the Court finds the subject Motion to inhibit devoid of merit”.
The respondents argued that it came to their knowledge that the husband of the Presiding Judge of the Court is one of the college deans of the LNU where the plaintiff Duque is the president and chief executive officer.
In her resolution, Maramba ruled that before she began hearing the case, she insinuated to the parties if any of them is interested in asking that she inhibits herself from trying and deciding the case but records show that neither the petitioner nor the respondents gave an indication.
As to the motion for reconsideration of the respondents on the decision itself, Maramba said that “the Court finds that the issues raised therein had already been squarely and judiciously passed upon in the assailed Decision, and there being no cogent reason to modify, much less reverse the said Decision, the Court resolves to deny the same”.
She ended her resolution by stating that the subject motion for inhibition and motion for reconsideration filed by the city of Dagupan and the motion for reconsideration filed by the petitioner “are all denied”.
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