Vic Sotto’s Hearing for his Pepsi Paloma Woes Might End up Getting Cancelled

On January 15, this coming Wednesday, Vic Sotto and Darryl Yap or their attorneys who currently represent them, are supposed to square off against each other during the hearing regarding whether or not the writ of habeas data to stop promotional materials in connection with the film ‘Pepsi Paloma’, should be granted to Sotto.

However, Atty. Raymond Fortun, who now represents Yap, filed a motion today, January 13, for immediate consolidation with motion to cancel the hearing on the 15th.

What does this mean for the Sotto camp?

Well, it means, because of a technicality involving a court resolution dated January 22, 2008 regarding the writ of habeas data, the filing of the criminal charge by the Sotto camp at the Office of the City Prosecutor last January 10 requires the two cases to be treated as one to avoid forum shopping.

Forum shopping is the technical term in law for seeking remedies in two different forums or places.

Section 21 of A. M. No. 08-1-16-SC regarding the rule of consolidation states that:

“When a criminal action is filed subsequent to the filing of a petition for the writ, the latter shall be consolidated with the criminal action.

When a criminal action and a separate civil action are filed subsequent to a petition for a writ of habeas data, the petition shall be consolidated with the criminal action.

After consolidation, the procedure under this Rule shall continue to govern the disposition of the reliefs in the petition.”

Thus, the next 48 hours will be both camps waiting with bated breath if Muntinlupa RTC 205 will follow the consolidation rule of the Supreme Court, as they should.