SUPERIOR Court Judge Pro Tem Alberto E. Tolentino said the disqualification of the governor’s attorneys, Viola Alepuyo and Anthony Aguon, is not warranted.
Alepuyo and Aguon are representing Gov. Ralph DLG Torres in the criminal case filed by the Office of the Attorney General against the governor over his first-class off-island travels and failure to comply with a legislative subpoena.
The AG’s office, represented by Chief Solicitor Robert Glass Jr., has asked the court to look into possible conflicts of interest in the representation of Torres by attorneys Alepuyo and Aguon.
Glass said Alepuyo represented Frances Dela Cruz, the governor’s executive assistant, in connection with a hearing conducted by the Judicial and Governmental Operations Committee of the House of Representatives last year regarding the governor’s public expenditures.
Aguon, for his part, represented Police Officer Jomalyn Gelacio in connection with the same legislative hearing.
In a seven-page ruling issued on Aug. 23, Judge Tolentino said: “The court has conducted an inquiry into said conflicts of interests and finds that the disqualification of attorneys Alepuyo and Aguon is not warranted, as the informed consent and written waivers of conflict of interests between attorneys Alepuyo and Aguon, defendant, and witnesses Frances M. Dela Cruz and Jomalyn Gelacio were obtained and accepted by the court.”
On April 8, 2022, the AG’s office filed a criminal case against the governor, alleging 12 counts of misconduct in public office and one count of theft relating to the issuance of airline tickets for business class, first class, or other premium class travel for himself and/or first lady Diann T. Torres.
The case also alleged one count of contempt for failure to appear in compliance with a subpoena.
Torres has denied the charges. For their part, his lawyers, who include attorneys Matthew Holley and Victorino Torres, filed a motion to have the AG’s office withdraw or be disqualified as prosecutor.
They said Attorney General Edward Manibusan “is prosecuting [the] governor for an alleged violation in which the AG provided legal advice.”
In a recent ruling, Judge Tolentino denied in part the motion to disqualify the Office of the AG from the criminal case it filed against the governor.
But the judge also granted in part the governor’s motion to disqualify the OAG “as the Court finds there is an impermissible exposure to privileged and confidential information that prevents [Chief Solicitor J. Robert] Glass [Jr.] from prosecuting Defendant for Count XIV,” which is contempt for failure to comply with a legislative subpoena.
The judge said Count XIV is dismissed without prejudice, which means it can be refiled.
