In a nine-page ruling written by Associate Justice Agnes Reyes-Carpio, the CA’s Eleventh Division granted the petition filed by Manuel Jimenez Jr., one of the accused in the Barrameda murder case seeking to stop the proceedings being conducted by Judge Zaldy Docena of Branch 170 of the RTC in Malabon pending the resolution of his petition.

Jimenez, in his petition filed before the appellate court, accused Docena of committing grave abuse of discretion when he allowed Manuel Montero to be discharged as a state witness.

He also assailed Docena for refusing to recuse in the case despite the fact that the head of the prosecution panel, State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva, was his former classmate at the Ateneo Law School.

The Solicitor General opposed Jimenez’s petition, saying that an injunction cannot be used to restrain a criminal prosecution since public interest requires that criminal acts be immediately investigated and prosecuted for the protection of society.

The OSG also maintained that Montero’s discharge as state witness was made in accordance with the Rules of Court.

But, the CA argued that the resolution of the said issues would be rendered moot if Montero would be allowed to continue with his testimony.

It added that it did not immediately issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) despite Jimenez’s plea in line with the general rule that injunction should not be issued to restrain criminal prosecutions.

The CA explained that despite the urgency in the tenor of Jimenez’s petition, it deemed appropriate to wait for the comment of the OSG on his petition and then for his reply to the comment.

The appellate court noted that it only granted Jimenez’s prayer for a TRO on December 8, 2011, and issued the writ of injunction on February 6, 2012, or two days before the TRO expired.

“Hence, there is no attempt on the part of the Court to deviate from the general rule in issuing injunctions to restrain criminal prosecutions,” the CA stressed.

The CA added that there is a need to suspend the Barrameda murder case trial considering that the issue of Docena’s inhibition would have a bearing in the case.

“Should we find public respondent [Docena] to have been partial, as claimed by herein petition, then petition as an accused therein, is deprived of his right to an impartial trial,” the CA held.

“To our mind, petitioner had sufficiently established his right. As an accused, one of his constitutional rights is the right to be tried by an impartial judge,” the CA added.

Jimenez has denied any participation in the killing of Barrameda and that insisted Montero’s affidavit identifying him as the mastermind has remained uncorroborated.

Jimenez noted that Docena’s predecessor, Judge Hector Almeyda, had previously denied the motion of the prosecution to discharge Montero as state witness.

Almeyda earlier ruled that Montero’s statements “could hardly strengthen the prosecution’s case” since no other pieces of evidence have been presented to corroborate his affidavit.

Aside from Jimenez Jr., the DOJ has already indicted his son, Manuel Jimenez III who is the legally married spouse of Ruby Rose; his brother, fishing magnate Lope Jimenez, Eric Fernandez, Lennard “Spyke” Descalso and Roberto Ponce.

Ruby Rose was reported missing on March 14, 2007 by her family.

Two years after, Montero surfaced to confess to the killing and identified the others involved in the crime.

He also led authorities in recovering her body, which was dumped in the waters off Navotas City inside a cement-sealed container.

Montero claimed that Lope ordered the killing of Barrameda, upon the instructions of his brother “for bringing shame” to the Jimenez family.