Finance slams TRO on oil smuggling case

Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima. AP FILE PHOTO

The Department of Finance on Tuesday slammed the Court of Appeals’ issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) on a smuggling case against the president and chief executive of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc.

The Bureau of Customs earlier this month filed the complaint, which also accused customs broker Jorlan Cabanes and several John Does of illegally bringing in various petroleum products with a combined dutiable value P5.1 billion.

Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said in a statement that TROs such as the one in question effectively prevented the government from prosecuting smuggling.

“Our courts and court processes should not be used by a few to block our progress in enforcing customs laws and creating a level playing field for all,” Purisima said.

The 60-day TRO, which the CA’s special 10th division issued last May 9, blocked the enforcement of a Department of Justice resolution that ordered the filing of smuggling charges against Phoenix’s Dennis Uy and the others who allegedly helped in the anomaly.

The CA was acting on a petition filed by Cabanes, who is seeking a writ of preliminary injunction on the charges against him. The court will hear the petition on June 27.

“This unnecessarily slows down the process but we will not allow anyone to distract us from our continuing drive against smuggling,” Purisima said.

According to the DOF, two of the three justices of the CA special 10th division—Angelita A. Gacutan and Francisco P. Acosta—were also behind a decision that led to the dropping of syndicated estafa charges against Globe Asiatique founder Delfin Lee and others involved in housing development scandal.

“We look forward to working with the leadership of the judiciary to prevent the manipulation of legal processes, which effectively frustrate our quest for justice,” Purisima said.

For its part, Phoenix has filed a motion at the DOJ asking the agency to reconsider its reversal of an earlier resolution that cleared the company of the BOC’s allegations.

In a six-page decision dated May 9, the CA special 10th division granted the petition of Cabanes for a review of the case against him and issued a 60-day TRO on the Department of Justice (DOJ) resolution that ordered state prosecutors to file charges against Cabanes and Phoenix’s Uy.

“(I)n order to preserve the status quo and to prevent the present petition from being moot and academic, a (TRO) is hereby granted for a period of 60 days unless sooner revoked,” said the appellate court resolution penned by Acosta.