(published at Malaya, July 16, 2007)

Lokin’s 2nd disbarment complaint

If Joel Villanueva files the complaint within the week, Luis K. Lokin Jr. will have faced a third disbarment complaint.The word that comes from Joel Villanueva, president of the Citizens Battle Against Crime party list, is he will sign the complaint anytime this week.

Some years back, Erlinda K. Bildner filed a complaint against Lokin for betrayal of trust, having served as counsel for his late father’s enemies. He was the retained lawyer of the late Potenciano Ilusorio.The head of the investigating committee of the Integrated Bar, Milagros San Juan, recommended a three-year suspension.

Her recommendation mysteriously disappeared until someone in the IBP sent me a copy. That I thought became the basis for reviving what everybody thought was an archived case.

The Supreme Court suspended Lokin from the practice of law for three years. Not too long after that, Bildner’s sister, Shereen, filed a separate complaint for disbarment claiming that Lokin usurped her seat in the board of Philcomsat Holdings.

And now comes Joel Villanueva, son of Bro. Eddie of the Jesus is Lord Movement, preparing another-the third-disbarment complaint against Lokin. Into each life, some rain must fall.

Lokin may not be proclaimed

Luis Lokin has filed petition for his proclamation as nominee of CIBAC with the Commission on Elections. I have been fed with the information that the petition is about to be denied.

This is a messy story. Kim Bernardo Lokin, the Chinese-Filipino lawyer’s wife, would have been one of the nominees. In fact, the nomination form was sent to Lokin’s office presumably for submission to the Comelec.

When Kim decided to run for Congress in the first district of Pangasinan, her husband allegedly substituted his name for hers without the consent of CIBAC. Consequently, CIBAC filed a petition for the withdrawal of Lokin’s nomination.

The petition got lost in the law division of the Comelec.CIBAC presented to the Comelec an acknowledged copy of the petition. It is now clear to the Comelec that there is indeed a petition to withdraw the nomination of Lokin.

CIBAC sues itself

The question of Lokin’s nomination or its acceptance or rejection is purely an issue exclusive to the Commission on Election. But CIBAC itself, through Kim Bernardo, filed a petition for a permanent injunction "to enjoin the defendants Emmanuel Joel Villanueva and Cinchona C. Gonzalez (CIBAC nominees) from calling, convening and/or holding of an alleged special general assembly…purportedly of CIBAC to the prejudice of plaintiff organization (also CIBAC) and the members of the board of trustees."I earlier reported that Luis Lokin filed the petition.

I stand corrected. Counsel of the petitioners is Roverica de los Santos of Naga City, not Lokin.

I am beginning to feel that in this petition, CIBAC, the petitioner, is suing itself. Which means that the petition seeks to disenfranchise the party list’s main organizer and president, Joel Villanueva.

The previous meetings or general assemblies of CIBAC was never questioned. Lawyer De los Santos wants the court to prevent such meetings particularly the one scheduled for July 7 but was postponed to July 14.

My own troubles with Lokin

After I started asking about how Lokin switched loyalties from his client, Potenciano Ilusorio, to his enemies, the group of Manuel Nieto Jr., through Greggy Araneta invited me for lunch in his Forbes home to meet Lokin.

The first thing that Lokin told me was not to believe everything that Lin Bildner was telling me. They are mostly lies, he declared.

I politely asked Lokin to write me a reply. I assured him that I will not change one word because, I explained to him, I hold sacred the right of reply. I hardly care whether or not the reply is the truth.

He never sent me a reply.

I got surprise of my life when I got a summons to appear before the prosecutor of Pasig City to answer a libel complaint filed by Lokin.

After the appearance before the prosecutor, Lokin and I came down together. He was asking how my wife, who was in New York for medical treatment, was doing. Fine, I told him. We met again in the ball of Friends of the CCP. He was absolutely cordial.

In my defense, I moved to quash the case. The Court agreed.