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Pangilinan wants Pasig judge axed over injunction order


Sen. Francis Pangilinan is asking the Supreme Court (SC) to fire Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 167 Judge Rolando Mislang for stopping the Department of Justice (DOJ) from filing a criminal case against the owner of property developer Globe Asiatique. "Judge Mislang should be fired for gross ignorance of the law and grave abuse of discretion," Pangilinan said in a text message to reporters. He made the statement after Mislang on Tuesday issued an injunction order that made permanent the temporary restraining order (TRO) against the DOJ, which was filing a syndicated estafa case against Globe Asiatique president and CEO Delfin Lee and other executives of the firm. Without the order, Lee – whose company supposedly used fictitious buyers to secure government housing loans – could have spent time in jail because estafa is a non-bailable offense. Mislang shouldn't have issued the injunction order because the SC was still asking him to explain why he issued the TRO in the first place, Pagilinan said. "This is an open defiance by a lower court judge of the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court should act swiftly in [ridding] the ranks of the judiciary of corrupt and incompetent magistrates and it should start with Judge Mislang," he said. "The injunction is a slap on the face of the Supreme Court. It is unbelievable and clearly a grave abuse of discretion. He should be fired," the senator added. Last Wednesday, Vice President Jejomar Binay, who chairs the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) board of trustees, said: "I am extremely disgusted by the callousness of Judge Mislang." Earlier, Pag-IBIG even filed an administrative complaint against Mislang for issuing the TRO against the DOJ. "He [Mislang] issued the preliminary injunction fully aware that the legality and propriety of his TROs are being questioned, and that the Court Administrator has directed him to explain his actions," said Binay. The vice president likewise said the release of the preliminary injunction was "railroaded" to the "damage and prejudice of the government and the victims." "Judge Mislang, by his actions, is directly challenging President Aquino's campaign against corruption," he said. — LBG, GMA News

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