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By Jomar Canlas, Reporter
THE Court of Appeals (CA) in Cebu
junked the petition and denied the prayer for temporary restraining
order filed by Mandaue, Cebu Mayor Thadeo Ouano after he was
preventively suspended by Ombudsman Maria Merceditas Navarro-Gutierrez
along with Lapu-Lapu Mayor Athuro Radaza and 17 other local and
Public Works officials, in view of the alleged anomalous transaction
involving the lampposts put up for the Asean summit.
Two separate resolutions of the
CA 18th Division, penned by Associate Justice Francisco Acosta,
dismissed the petition of Ouano due to a technicality, for failure
to attach the Order of the Office of the Ombudsman suspending Ouano
from office.
The CA made its ruling on the
basis of the Rules on Civil Procedure that a petition for certiorari
shall only be entertained, provided the annexes and the attachments
are complete.
In Manila, Court of Appeals
Presiding Justice Ruben Reyes will order a regular auditing and
inventory of temporary restraining orders (TROs) over the 69
magistrates, an act to watch and shape-up the “Dirty Dozen” of
the appellate court.
In an exclusive interview with
The Manila Times, Reyes promised that he will institute reforms in
the CA, whoever gets hurt, as part of his effort and support to the
Supreme Court in cleansing the judiciary.
“I will order a monthly or
quarterly inventory of TROs , I don’t want it to be ningas cogon,
not pakitang tao lang, something sustainable and possible,” Reyes
said.
The CA chief magistrate said that
he will do it for transparency and to watch the movements of his
fellow justices, “particularly the so-called Dirty Dozen [the 12
most corrupt CA justices].” This effort is to monitor who are the
justices who issued TROs indiscriminately and improvidently.
“For transparency for real
reforms ito. Hindi masama ang mag-isyu ng TRO ang masama ang kung
may pera ang TRO. Nagiging notorious ’yan kung issued
indiscriminately and for a fee. Nagiging suspect na if a justice
issues a TRO frequently,” Reyes stressed.
Reyes told his employees during
the Flag Ceremony on Monday that “we just do our best, we cannot
win everybody. Our detractors are there but for as long we are doing
our best in the service of the court, then we have nothing to
worry.”
He said that besides the
dismissal from the service of CA Associate Justice Elvi John
Asuncion, the TROs “for sale” issue and the “Dirty Dozen,”
it is now time for the people in the CA to shape-up. Besides the
inventory of TROs, also a part of its reform, is the creation of the
“One Stop Shop” for orderly transaction and evade loiterers and
fixers in the CA.
“To limit the ingress of the
litigants, and eliminate the possibility of any fixer,” the CA
presiding justice said.
Reyes said that there will be a
bidding on materials and labor and the rules shall be observed and
the amount would only be P1.8 million as maximum expense.
The “One Stop Shop” would
contain the docket sections particularly the Civil Criminal and
Special cases. It would also include the public assistance and
information office.
Chief Justice Reynato Puno said
that Gutierrez has not yet submitted the list and the Court welcomes
the submission of the same. The Supreme Court is reportedly waiting
for the list to be submitted by the Office of the Ombudsman to
conduct of a formal investigation against the “Dirty Dozen.”
The chief justice has told during
his meeting with the chairmen-justices of the CA that he is
receiving a lot of complaints of corruption, not just limited to the
CA Manila justices, but also against the justices assigned in Cebu.
Nine male justices and two lady
justices, assigned in Manila, are allegedly included on the hit list
of the alleged corrupt magistrates in the appellate court. Majority
of these justices came from the lower court before getting their
promotion in the CA. The CA is composed of 69 justices, 51 of which
are stationed in Manila.
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