Atty. Arthur P. Tugade, president-CEO of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) which oversees this freeport, has been accused of “abuse of authority and grave coercion.”
The disbarment case was filed shortly after Tugade and his legal officer Atty. Juvy Manwong were haled to the Ombudsman for the same offenses.
According to Eung Il “Steve” Kim, president of Holywood Park Development Corp. (HPDC) who also pioneered the hot air balloon fiesta here to drum up attention and support for the then Pinatubo devastated Clark ecozone, CDC officers led by Tugade “gravely abused their authority and put the law into their own hands by physicallyejecting me and preventing me from my entering my office without due process and the absence of a court order.”
Kim said CDC officers led by Tugade refused to adhere to a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Executive Judge of the Angeles City RTC on January 12, 2015.
The TRO was meant to “maintain the status quo ante” ordering the CDC to “desist from entering the leased premises and taking over the operation and any further action that will be detrimental to the right of the petitioners.”
Court Sheriff Vicente Sicat Jr. tried to serve the TRO through the CDC Legal Department on the same day but was reportedly ignored.
At around 3 p.m. on the same day, Kim said the CDC forcibly took over his leased premises and prevented him from entering his office. Armed security guards as wel las CDC police assisted in the take-over, he added.
To add salt to the injury, Kim said the CDC “directly negotiated” with HPDC tenants and entered into a new lease agreement with them despite the absence of a court order lawfully terminating the lease agreement with HPDC.
Kim said he is a legitimate businessman and investor in this freeport and poured in almost $8 million to develop his leased area at Hollywood Park near the Sapang Bato Gate of this freeport.
He said he was a victim of selective justice because HPDC is far more developed than any other property in the area.
Kim feared that CDC singled him out especially after he agreed to organize the Lubao Hot Air Balloon Festival.
Kim filed the disbarment case at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) – Commission on Bar Discipline on January 28. However, copies of the complaint were given to Punto! only last week.
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Tugade shrugged off the complaints.
“That’s okay,” Tugade said. “It’s his right (to file a complaint) as much as it is also my obligation to nprotect the interest of the government,” Tugade added.
