Tolentino lauds Capas judge's rectification on Guo case
September 13, 2024
Tolentino lauds Capas judge's rectification on Guo case
Senate Majority Leader Francis 'Tol' Tolentino on Friday lauded Tarlac court presiding judge Sarah Vedaña-delos Santos for acknowledging her fault in assuming jurisdiction over the case of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo - and more importantly, taking steps to rectify it.
Tolentino said the decision by Judge delos Santos not only affirms his earlier stand that only the Senate has a valid arrest warrant against Guo, but also prevents any 'undue influence.'
Judge delos Santos has turned over the cases to Capas RTC Executive Judge Ronald Leo T. Haban, who in turn ordered that the case be transferred to the Valenzuela City Regional Trial Court.
"I thank Honorable Judge delos Santos for acknowledging her oversight - and thus affirming that my position is right. More importantly, I thank her for taking timely steps to rectify the error," Tolentino said, noting the scheduled arraignment and pretrial of Guo on Friday afternoon is thus canceled.
"Also, the actions of Judge delos Santos are no less significant as this would prevent undue influence on the case," he added.
As a lawyer and law professor, Tolentino continues to advocate for clarity on this issue, emphasizing the importance of Republic Act 10660. His proactive approach not only highlighted the jurisdictional issue, but facilitated a quick correction to ensure the proper legal procedures were followed.
Earlier, Tolentino moved for the Senate to take custody of Guo during the Senate inquiry last Sept. 11, after arguing that the arrest warrant issued by RTC Branch 109 in Capas was in violation of RA 10660, since Guo held office in Bamban which is located in the same judicial region (Third Judicial Region).
Under Section 2 of RA 10660 on jurisdiction, "...the cases falling under the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court under this section shall be tried in a judicial region other than where the official holds office."
Thus, he said the Capas court has no jurisdiction over Guo's case - and that as of now, only the Senate's warrant of arrest "should be considered as the only valid warrant of arrest in existence."
"Apparently, the circular did not include a municipal mayor or other national and local officials classified as Grade 27 and higher under the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989 in the list of individuals classified as public officials within the contemplation of the circular. Thus, upon raffle of the present cases to this Court on 05 September 2024, this Court immediately took cognizance of the same," Tolentino noted, quoting delos Santos.
Delos Santos' order likewise cited a clarification from the Office of the Court Administrator dated Sept. 1, on the applicability of OCA Circular 10-2024 as cited by the Capas RTC Branch 109.
The OCA's clarification noted the Capas RTC Branch 109 did not properly quote Section 2 of RA 10660, and omitted an item that includes"(a)ll other national and local officials classified as Grade "27" and higher under the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989" as also covered by the term "public official" and subject of A.M. No. 19-05-131-RTC.
Due to this, delos Santos ordered that the present cases be returned to Executive Judge Haban "for his appropriate action in accordance with OCA Circular No. 10- 2024."
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