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Court restores James Yap's right to see Bimby

Court restores James Yap's right to see Bimby

What could be an early Father's Day gift for James Yap to finally see his son Bimby is a scenario still hanging in the balance.

After the Makati Regional Trial Court denied Kris Aquino’s petition for  permanent protection against former husband James Yap, the latter has asked the court’s  permission to visit  his son Bimby.

Also read: Did James Yap defy protection order to be with son Bimby?

But Kris' lawyer, Atty. Frank Chavez, in an interview with ABS-CBNNews.com said, “The issue regarding whether or not he can visit his son is not yet resolved with finality.”

Chavez also pointed out that the same court granted Kris' protection order for herself on the incident when James made “overt sexual advances” on Kris during his visit to her home last December.

“In relation to petitioner’s allegation of physical attack and sexual attempts,the court is convinced that respondent’s gesture of jokingly attempting to kiss the petitioner at the height of their estrangement is inappropriate and misplaced,” Judge Liza Marie Pecardal-Tecson said on her decision dated May 21, effectively granting Kris' petition to keep James 100 meters away from her.

In an interview with Yahoo! Philippines OMG!, James' lawyer Atty. Lorna Kapunan stressed that the court's decision is immediately executory and Chavez's argument is “malicious”: “Pwede naman visitation in the house of James. Pwedeng visitation sa basketball court. Pwedeng visitation sa mall.”

“And if they will use that as an excuse na hindi iiwanan ni Kris si Bimby para hindi makalapit si James, then that is malicious. And Frank Chavez will be violating, will be in contempt of court if that is his advice to the client kasi ang visitation can be anywhere naman e. That has happened before, that can happen now,” she continued.

Chavez also told ABS-CBNNews.com that they filed an appeal on the denial of the protection order for Bimby that's scheduled for hearing on Friday.

Kapunan, however, said they're not aware of any appeal being filed: “We don't know. I don't know about any appeal that they filed. Ang protection order is immediately executory.”

Kris' decision

While Chavez has been trying another legal hurdle to block the visit, Kapunan said they're already in touch with Kris to make the visit happen soon.

“Si James has been trying to call the yaya. But the yaya has not been answering. So kami ang nagtetext sa yaya, and Kris answered saying all communication should be directed to her,” she said.

“She said that we cannot dictate the schedules, but I hope that she's not bitter about losing the case. Sabi naman ng court, it is to the best interest of the child. And if she's really to the best interest of the child, then what is different between Sunday and Friday,” Kapunan noted, referring to the visitation rights which allow James to see his son on Wednesdays and Fridays.

More: The Kris-James ‘war’: At what (emotional) cost?