Above the Law? Billionaire Directors, San Juan Judge Face Contempt Charges for Defying Supreme Court Directive

The billionaire directors of the Wack Wack Residents Association, Inc. (WWRAI), namely Jeffrey C. Keng; Miguel Angelo S. Silverio; Maize Frances S. Qua; Shirley M. Ty; Juan Miguel J. Araneta; Lakan-asa R. Bautista; William John P. Demyer; Ramon Jose C. Galang; and, Manuel B. Sy and the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 264 in San Juan City, Judge Ma. Christina De Pio Lim, are facing contempt charges for allegedly violating a Supreme Court order in connection with the long-standing AMA Tower dispute.

The Supreme Court, in G.R. No. 252776, remanded the case to the San Juan RTC solely for the purpose of hearing WWRAI’s monetary counterclaims against the developers of the AMA Tower. The High Court made clear that jurisdiction over the legality of the tower’s construction rests exclusively with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Despite this explicit limitation, Judge De Pio Lim allegedly entertained WWRAI’s efforts to revive issues relating to the validity of the construction of the AMA Tower that were previously resolved with finality by the Supreme Court, as well as various other courts and government agencies, and ruled to be outside the RTC’s jurisdiction. This prompted the filing of contempt charges against the WWRAI board for deliberate forum-shopping and both the WWRAI board and Judge De Pio Lim for their alleged defiance of the Supreme Court’s directive.

The AMA Tower developers have maintained that the AMA Tower’s construction and operations have consistently complied with government regulations and court rulings. They expressed confidence that the justice system will uphold the finality of the Supreme Court’s decisions and put an end to what they describe as nearly three decades of repetitive and baseless litigation initiated by WWRAI.