By Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa
Variety News Staff

THE federal court denied a landowner’s motion for reconsideration and his motion for withdrawal of the court’s order denying his motion to vacate or correct his sentence.
U.S. District Court designated Judge David A.Wiseman denied the motions of John S. Pangelinan, a landowner who was convicted on two counts of obstruction of a court order and is now serving a one-year jail term at the Federal Detention Center in Seattle, Washington.
Wiseman in his order said that the court may relieve a party from an order for mistake, inadvertence,surprise, or excusable neglect; newly discovered evidence which by due diligence could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59 (b); (3) fraud, misrepresentation or other misconduct of an adverse party or any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment.
Wiseman in denying Pangelinan’s motions said that Pangelinan’s arguments are not based on evidence withheld from the court due to mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect or any other justification permitted under Rule 60.
The judge said Pangelinan’s justification is that he disagrees with the court’s order.
Pangelinan filed a motion for reconsideration and a motion to vacate his sentence for two counts of obstruction of a court order.
The court in an order on July 27, 2007 denied the motion to vacate the sentence on grounds that the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to entertain petitioner’s motion while an appeal is pending.
Pangelinan filed a motion for reconsideration but the federal court denied it on August 15.
Pangelinan filed another motion for reconsideration and withdrawal of the court’s order denying his motion under 28 USC 2255 to vacate, set aside or correct sentence by a person in federal custody.
The matter was heard on September 25 and Judge Wiseman on Oct. 1, issued an order denying the motion for reconsideration and denying the motion for withdrawal of order.
Pangelinan was indicted for writing a letter to the editor that warned potential buyers against purchasing his land.
The U.S. District Court during a jury trial found him guilty of the charges and he was sentenced to one year of imprisonment for each count to run concurrently.
Pangelinan appealed his conviction in the U.S. Corut of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The appeal is now pending.