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Thursday, April 21, 2005
SC clips judge’s power to clear way for probe
THE Supreme Court (SC) has indefinitely clipped the powers of Cebu-based Judge Donato Sotero Navarro, but the judge said this shouldn’t “leave any bad impression, unless one chooses to interpret it in a malicious way.”
In an en banc SC resolution, the High Tribunal told Navarro to “cease and desist” from performing his judicial and administrative functions in his court, except for deciding on all cases submitted for a ruling.
Navarro serves as presiding judge of Branch 6 of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC).
The SC directed MTCC 7 Judge Francisco Seville to take over as acting presiding judge, effective immediately, and to continue with his functions over MTCC 6 until the SC issues another order on the matter.
In the same order, the SC also directed Navarro to decide all cases submitted for decision and all inherited cases with complete transcripts of stenographic notes within six months.
Judge Navarro stressed, however, that he is still the sworn judge of Branch 6.
“It’s not a suspension. It is just the appointment of an assisting judge. That is the be-all and end-all of that,” he said.
A little help
“The Supreme Court does this whenever it feels that a court needs some assistance,” Navarro said, adding that he never hid the fact that his sala has some pending cases.
He added, though, that he has reduced the number of pending cases in his sala, from 3,000 when he assumed, but needs more time to finish them all.
He said extraneous variables like the “incessant death threats” he receives because of the cases he handles, as well as having to take care of “a lot of administrative matters,” make things difficult.
On top of the six-month ultimatum, the SC also told Judge Navarro to submit to the SC Office of the Court Administrator a monthly progress report on the cases he decided, not later than the first 10 days of the ensuing month.
The SC order so elated the MTCC 6 employees that they prepared to celebrate yesterday, but the judge allegedly took photographs of them.
The staff, who prepared a welcome party for Seville as their new acting judge, planned to hold the celebration inside the MTCC 6 courtroom, but the judge showed up and ate lunch with his family there.
‘Solomonic’
This prompted the MTCC 6 employees to move their celebration to Seville’s courtroom instead, beside the MTCC 6 sala.
In an ABS-CBN news report, Judge Navarro denied he harassed the employees. He said he only asked them what the celebration was for and that it was not true he got mad at them.
The MTCC employees had filed an administrative complaint against their judge, saying that Navarro and his wife interfered in their work.
The High Tribunal almost had him transferred, upon the request of his staff members. This did not push through, however, as Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., who came to Cebu, called the judge and his staff to a dialogue and enforced a status quo.
Navarro described the latest order as “solomonic” and “perfect for the conditions of this court.”
This, he added, gives him the chance to focus more time and effort on decision-making, a job that he likes more than exercising administrative functions, because “it is directly serving the public through dispensing justice.” (GN/KNR)
(April 21, 2005 issue)
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