A ruling by the Supreme Court (SC) has fined a Makati City judge who cited a motorist in contempt for occupying the parking space reserved for the judge at the basement of the Makati City Hall, nine years ago.

In a 14-page decision by Justice Diosdado Peralta, the court found guilty of abuse of authority Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 135 Judge Francisco Ibay, for citing complainant Valeriano Nuñez for contempt without legal basis.

The fine against the judge shall be deducted from the P400,000 withheld from his retirement benefits.

On April 4, 2005, Judge Ibay summoned Nuñez, a driver at the Engineering Department of the Makati City Hall, to explain why he had occupied the parking space allotted him at the Makati City Hall.

Nuñez apologized to the judge and explained that it was an inadvertence and that he was not aware that the space, where he had parked three days earlier the government vehicle he was driving, was allotted to the judge. But Judge Ibay refused to accept Nuñez’s apology and found him guilty of direct contempt and sentenced him to five days in jail and fined him P1,000.

For his part, Judge Ibay said he has already placed a marker with his name at the space allotted to him and that he reports to work early in the morning to accomplish many tasks expected of him being the third-ranking judge for the year 2004 among the Makati City RTC judges.

He claimed there have been similar incidents in the past, i.e., three persons had caused an overflow of water into his chambers which resulted in the damage of his computer system; another driver who had also occupied his parking slot, and an electrician who had erroneously switched off the electrical outlets in his sala.

All have been cited in contempt by Judge Ibay on the ground that they had disrupted his performance of official duties. Judge Ibay has already been sanctioned by the SC in the complaints filed by these people whom he had earlier cited in contempt.

The SC, reiterating its earlier ruling reminded Ibay that the power to declare a person in contempt of court must be exercised judiciously and sparingly, adding that a judge should never allow himself to be moved by pride, prejudice, passion, or pettiness in the performance of his duties

It noted that by the time Nuñez filed his complaint, Judge Ibay had already cited six persons for contempt, including Nuñez, who was ordered immediately detained thus preventing him from resorting to remedies provided for in the Rules of Court.

"Such abusive behavior on the part of the respondent judge fails to show his integrity," the court said.

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