Witness asks judge to inhibit from car trader's slay case

MANILA, Philippines - Claiming bias and partiality, a suspect-turned-state witness in the killing of car trader Venson Evangelista is asking a Quezon City regional trial court (RTC) judge to inhibit herself from hearing the case.

Alfredo Mendiola said Branch 215 Judge Ma. Luisa Quijano-Padilla should let someone else handle the proceedings against alleged car theft syndicate leaders Raymond and Roger Dominguez.

His lawyer, Willie Rivera, in a nine-page motion, said Mendiola has already been named as a state witness yet the court refuses to simply accept the same.

Instead of ruling on a motion to discharge Mendiola on April 11, Rivera said Quijano-Padilla insisted on the arraignment and ordered the entry of the plea of not guilty for the accused despite his protests.

Rivera said she also insisted on including the name of another witness, Ferdinand Parulan, in the charge sheet even though the city prosecutor has already dropped his name from the list of respondents.

Rivera clarified that the objection was valid considering that Mendiola was already granted a certificate of admission as a qualified state witness by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

He said the court even ordered the office of the city prosecutor to present his client in order to prove that he is qualified to be a state witness.

Because of the filing of the motion for inhibition, yesterday’s scheduled hearing was moved to June 27.