LAGUNA JUDGE SUED FOR PERJURY

THE presiding judge of the Municipal Trial Court in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna, found himself in a deeper mess after a case of perjury, a criminal offense under the Revised Penal Code, was filed against him last October 27.

A copy of the complaint furnished Pinoy Exposé averred Judge Alvin Bathan Landicho was sued after he allegedly lied in the sworn affidavit he submitted in defense of his Clerk of Court, Carmella Callos.

Callos is now currently facing an administrative complaint before the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) of the Supreme Court for grave misconduct, gross negligence, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and dishonesty for alleged “deliberate and prolonged failure” to update the Enhanced E-warrant System for the last six years, in defiance of repeated reminders from the Supreme Court, the complaint stated, a copy of which was also furnished this paper.

The complainant in both cases is Monalie Dizon, a well-respected anti-crime and anti-corruption advocate and secretary general of the Coalition Against Corruption (CAC), with support from the Volunteer Against Crime and Corruption (VACC).

Dizon said she was forced to also sue Landicho after the latter allegedly made “material false statements” in his sworn affidavit dated October 14, in relation to their meeting last July 15 on the issues surrounding the e-warrant system.

In the affidavit, Landicho averred the matter has already been referred to the Management Information Systems Office (MISO) of the Supreme Court, the office in charge of technical issues affecting the system’s operation as far back as two weeks before their meeting.

Dizon, however, disputed Landicho’s narrative, claiming that in their July 15 meeting, Landicho and Callos told her that it was already referred to the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) of the Philippine National Polic (PNP) and not to the MISO-SC.

She further averred that Landicho changed the narrative after belatedly learning that the DIDM has official records showing it has never received any communication on his court’s problems with the e-warrant system.

Dizon told Pinoy Exposé she got interested in the issue after the Sta. Rosa Police Office failed to secure the warrants for the suspects in two criminal cases that she filed at Landicho’s sala.

She also allegedly found out that the Sta. Rosa PNP have long been complaining about the court’s non-compliance with the e-warrant system and their difficulty in securing a copy of an arrest warrant.

Further investigation bared that Landicho’s court, thru Callos, has not been updating its e-warrant system covering a period of 6 years or dating back to the time when it was officially launched by the Supreme Court and the PNP in 2020, with the aim of strengthening the country’s criminal justice system (Pinoy Exposé, September 22, 2026).

Respect the people’s basic democratic rights.

Meanwhile, NPC Director Paul Gutierrez, chairman of the Press Freedom Committee, reminded authorities to uphold the people’s basic right to free expression and the media’s right to gather news and information without fear or intimidation.

It was learned that during the filing of Dizon’s complaint against Landicho at the Sta. Rosa City Prosecutor’s Office, among the members of the press present were two officers of the Club, Directo Niño Aclan and Director Jojo Sicat.

The NPC is one of the oldest and biggest organization of active members of the press.

It was gathered that Atty. Catherine Beran Baraiodan from the office of the Sta. Rosa Clerk of Court, tried to stop the press conference of Dizon and VACC chairman Atty. Manny Obedoza, claiming they were “disturbing” ongoing court hearings and ordered some security guards to escort them out of the building.

Sicat said they ended up holding the interview with Dizon and Obedoza at the parking lot of the 4-storey building but even there, he averred, some security guards tried to shoo them away.

Sicat said they did not deserve such treatment, calling it “wrong.”

Baraiodan also allegedly reported to the local police that the VACC and the media were creating “commotion” (“nanggugulo”) in an apparent bid to have them dispersed.

However, the accusation was proven false after Sta. Rosa Chief of Police P/LTCOL. John Carracedo arrived and witnessed for himself that no commotion is taking place, contrary to the report he received.

Sicat said they also sought to have an interview with Landicho for a more balanced news report, but they were rudely barred from re-entering the building by a security guard whom they failed to identify.

They were later told Landicho is “on leave” that made them leave the premises to file their reports.

Gutierrez said the incident again showed that ordinary Filipinos continue to find it difficult to exercise their basic right to free expression. It also showed the media’s difficulty in gathering news and information free of threat or harassment, even from the hands of officers of the court.

He noted the incident happened just days after NPC lifetime member and veteran journalist Philip Lustre was arrested by the police over a cyber libel case filed in Davao City.

Gutierez previously served as Undersecretary, Office of the President and Executive Director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), responsible for the protection and promotion of media rights and welfare.