SC fines judge P200,000 for sitting on petition.

The Supreme Court has penalized a judge for a seven-year delay in resolving a request for a writ of preliminary injunction (WPI) against a construction company accused of forcibly evicting stallholders from a market in Cainta, Rizal.

In an 11-page decision promulgated on Aug. 12 and made public on Tuesday, the Supreme Court en banc found Presiding Judge Miguel Asuncion of the Antipolo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 99 guilty of gross neglect of duty. Asuncion was fined P201,000.

Voting 15-0, the Supreme Court affirmed the JIB’s ruling that Asuncion had failed to resolve the case within the three-month period mandated by Article VIII, Section 15 of the Constitution.

“Judge Asuncion’s seven-year delay is inexcusable considering that the prayer for the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction, by its nature, implies that it must be addressed urgently,” the high court said in the decision penned by Associate Justice Henri Paul Inting.

Rejecting Asuncion’s argument that the pandemic affected his duties, the Supreme Court said: “While the COVID-19 pandemic was surely a challenging time for all members of the judiciary, it cannot be used as a justification for wrongful acts or omissions that took place prior or during this period.”

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