Reports on SC order vs Gwen malicious, misleading, guv’s lawyer says

CEBU Governor Gwendolyn Garcia's legal team has denounced recent news reports as "incomplete, misleading, and malicious" concerning a Supreme Court ruling in her case with the Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC).

In a press statement released over the weekend, Garcia's counsel, Atty. Alex O. Avisado Jr., sought to clarify the matter and urged the public to dismiss these reports, which they claim are aimed at tarnishing the governor's reputation.

The case dates back to 1996 when Garcia secured a credit facility from HSBC to purchase a light cargo transit barge for GGC Enterprises.

Although HSBC covered the payment, Garcia and GGC Enterprises allegedly failed to reimburse the bank. HSBC subsequently filed a complaint to recover the amount owed.

Initially, the Makati Regional Trial Court awarded HSBC $890,347.92 in damages, a sum later reduced to $700,000 by the Court of Appeals.

Garcia's legal team contested this decision, arguing it

lacked justification, particularly since Garcia had provided collateral exceeding the claimed amount.

The case was then brought before the Supreme Court.

While the Supreme Court reviewed the case, HSBC sought to enforce a larger sum of $2.8 million, which Garcia’s camp deemed excessive.

HSBC also filed a petition to revive the judgment due to the passage of over 10 years since the decision became final.

The Regional Trial Court of Taguig Branch 153 dismissed this petition, ruling that the claim had been prescribed and was no longer enforceable. HSBC’s appeal of this dismissal is currently pending before the Court of Appeals.

In their recent statement, Garcia’s legal team emphasized that there is "no real, imminent threat of enforcement of any civil liability against Governor Garcia" at this time.

They argued that unless the Supreme Court rules definitively on reviving the case, any enforcement attempts would be legally premature.

The Supreme Court's decision on December 4, 2023, directed the Makati RTC to enforce its August 22, 2012 resolution, which required Garcia to pay HSBC $700,000 in damages, plus 12 percent legal interest from July 17, 2000, and P404,560.50 in legal costs.

Garcia had questioned the February 2018 alias writ of execution, claiming it was improperly served and failed to specify the facts and law on which it was based.

She also argued that the writ should have been directed to her business, GGC Enterprises.

The Supreme Court rejected these arguments, stating that Garcia did not provide new facts or circumstances to overturn the alias writ of execution.

The Court stressed the need to avoid delaying tactics that clog the courts’ dockets and impair the judicial system. They clarified that an alias writ simply reiterates the original order and does not require new facts or laws.

Despite the Court’s directive to enforce the 2012 ruling, Garcia’s team maintains that HSBC’s attempts to enforce the judgment are premature given the Taguig RTC’s dismissal of HSBC’s revival petition.

This aspect of the case remains under appeal.

Garcia’s camp continues to contest what they see as misleading information and aims to ensure that the public understands the full context of the ongoing legal dispute.(MyTVCebu)

• Tags
• #Gwendolyn Garcia
• # Supreme Court
• #Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation
• #Atty. Alex Avisado Jr.