Appeals court junks Yasay plea vs arrest warrant

MANILA, Philippines —  The Court of Appeals rejected the plea of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. and former Banco Filipino officials that challenged a Manila court’s issuance of a arrest warrant against them for being premature.

The appeals court’s Former Ninth Division junked Yasay’s petition for certiorari, which moves for the junking of the warrant of arrest against him.

Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 10 Judge Danilo Leyva ordered the arrest of Yasay for alleged violation of Republic Act 8791 and 7653—the General Banking Law and the New Central Bank Act.

In resolving the petition, the CA noted that respondent Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the petitioners still have a pending motion for reconsideration before the Manila court.

“In fact, the petitioners just moved for the suspension of the proceedings before the court a quo until the said motions are resolved,” the CA, quoting BSP, said.

“Clearly, said motions afford the petitioners adequate and expeditious relief because the issue of whether or not the court a quo acted correctly or erroneously in the issuance of the assailed Order and Warrant of arrest could be raised and was actually raised by the petitioners,” the ruling said.

“The premature invocation of the intervention of the Court while said motions are still unresolved is fatal to the instant petition,” the CA added.

Yasay was arrested August 22, but was released after he paid bail on August 23.

The case stemmed from an allegedly anomalous loan issued by the defunct Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgages Bank.

Yasay denied the allegations and said that the case covers supposed violations from 2003 to 2006. He said he only joined the company in 2009.

The court set arraignment on the case on September 20.

Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas Jr. wrote the ruling. Associate Justices Myra Garcia-Fernandez and Geraldine Fiel-Macaraig concurred.