Maguindanao del Norte Vice Governor Bai Fatima Ainee L. Sinsuat has been ordered by the Supreme Court (SC) to explain why she should not be cited in contempt for not promptly informing the court of her appointment, oath taking, and assumption as vice governor of the province.
Sinsuat filed a petition with the SC when she was acting governor of Maguindanao del Norte. On April 28, 2023 she accepted her appointment by President Marcos as vice governor of the province and assumed the post while her petition was pending with the SC.
She did not inform the SC of her appointment and assumption as vice governor of Maguindanao del Norte. The SC ruled in favor of her petition which she filed as acting governor of the province.
In a resolution issued last Monday, Nov. 13, Sinsuat was ordered to submit a written explanation on contempt citation within 10 days from receipt of the resolution.
A press statement issued by the SC’s public information office (PIO) said that Sinsuat’s “silence and omissions appear to constitute intentional concealment which tends to disrespect the Court’s authority as final dispenser of justice.”
“Her actions tend to cripple the Court’s authority to render an informed and just resolution of the case,” the PIO quoted from the resolution which has yet to be made public in the SC’s website.
Sinsuat won as vice governor of Maguindanao during the 2022 national and local elections or four months before Republic Act No. 1550, the Charter of the Provinces of Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, was ratified in a plebiscite conducted by the Commission on Elections.
Sinsuat then assumed the post of acting governor of Maguindanao del Norte. She asked the Bureau of Local Government Finance - Regional Office No. XII (BLGF Region XII) to designate Badorie M. Alonzo as provincial treasurer.
When informed that the designation needs the clearance of the BGLF Central and the Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Sinsuat filed with the SC a petition to compel the designation of Alonzo or any qualified person as provincial treasurer.
On June 26, 2023, the SC granted Sinsuat’s petition and ordered the processing of Alonzo’s designation.
In its resolution, the SC affirmed the clear legal right of Maguindanao del Norte, represented by Sinsuat as acting governor, to recommend the appointment of its provincial treasurer.
However, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), representing the BLGF Region XII and BLGF Central, filed a motion to set the petition for oral arguments and that the June 26, 2023 ruling of the SC be reversed.
In its motion, the OSG told the SC that on April 26, 2023, President Marcos had appointed several officers for the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte with Sinsuat as vice governor.
With her appointment and assumption as vice governor on April 28, 2023, the OSG said that Sinsuat effectively abandoned her claim as acting governor of Maguindanao del Norte and relinquished the authority to appoint its provincial treasurer.
Through Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, the SC said that Sinsuat is deemed to have abandoned her claim to the position of governor of Maguindanao del Norte when she accepted her appointment, took her oath, and assumed office as vice governor of the newly created province.
With her assumption as vice governor, the SC said that the issues raised in Sinsuat’s petition have been rendered moot since her authority to represent Maguindanao del Norte had ceased.
Since Sinsuat abandoned her claim to the position of governor of Maguindanao del Norte, the Court ruled that the issues raised in the petition have been rendered moot and her authority to represent the province of Maguindanao del Norte had ceased warranting the dismissal of the case.
The SC then reversed its June 26, 2023 ruling for being moot.
The SC pointed out that while the court takes judicial notice of the official acts of the President in appointing Sinsuat, the parties should have at least informed the court of the supervening events which significantly altered the possible outcome of the case.