Instead of being jailed, I was placed under military custody for my experience in court when summoned in my “defamation case.”
During my first appearance to plead “not guilty,” I was accompanied by five (5) lawyers from the P.C. Judge Advocate Service, all in uniform as officers from our office, to defend me, headed by Capt. Jolly Bugarin, who later on became the Chief, NBI, under Pres. Marcos.
But the lawyers of Mrs. Flor asked for postponement to further study the case and the evidence, a trick to get more money from a client.
Every time there was a scheduled trial, the three lawyers asked for a postponement.
Then a case was publicized in all newspapers and magazines with the picture of Mrs. Flor and the man detained by her after helping him get his son’s three (3) years’ back pay and to deposit around ₱27,000.00 in both their names explained her wealth. She was also accused of poisoning the man gradually.
She finally was dismissed as a teacher and her case dragged for a long time, until she lost her three cars and her house to pay her lawyers.
Her son also shot somebody in Malacanang and that added to her problems.
Finally, when my case was scheduled for hearing, she appeared alone, without any lawyer. The Fiscal prosecuted the case by presenting to the Judge a signed Petition dated more than six months before the case of defamation was filed against me as the only evidence. It exceeded the statute of limitation for filing it.
As a lawyer, in my behalf I pointed out to the Judge that the statutory limit of six months was being violated. He ordered the Fiscal to file a motion for dismissal. That ended my case. Mrs. Flor was then seen selling roasted corn on the sidewalk.
Leave a Reply