Thursday, July 07, 2005
Castro shows up, gets no task
Assistant Cebu City Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro continues to report for work even with the 90-day preventive suspension order from the Sandiganbayan Second Division.
This is her way of serving the public who refuse it, Castro said, as she lamented the continuous unpleasant commentaries against her.
She does not want anyone having a chance to criticize her for not doing her job while she still receives her monthly salary.
With pay
According to her, she still gets her salary since the order was only for preventive suspension, which, she clarified, comes from the Department of Justice and not Cebu City Hall.
Castro was slapped with the suspension last April 11, but the implementation was stalled when she filed a motion for reconsideration, later denied by the Sandiganbayan.
She was then advised by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to go on leave, which she did, from May 12 to June 22.
The order was in relation to the criminal case the anti-graft office filed against her. The case stemmed from a lawyer’s attempt to bribe her with P10,000 to go easy on the bail hearing of a suspected member of the Hong Kong Triad.
She then filed a petition before the Supreme Court with an application for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and preliminary injunction last May 30 yet.
No order yet
But until now, no TRO has been issued. Castro is no longer banking on its issuance, since the suspension is about to lapse on July 25.
For her, Acting Cebu City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon already implemented her suspension order when he issued two memorandums last April 25.
The first memo, addressed to Assistant City Prosecutor Dixon Fuentes, directed him to give special attention to the cases Castro is handling in courts so as not to hamper the proceedings when the fiscal serves the suspension.
In another memorandum addressed to Assistant City Prosecutor Aida Sanchez, Sellon ordered that Castro be excluded from
the raffling of cases for preliminary investigation or inquest proceedings.
No work
This means that while Castro continues to report for work, there is no task assigned to her.
Sellon refused to comment on Castro’s status because he does not want to preempt whatever decision Gonzalez has on the matter.
Castro is set return to her regular functions on July 26, the day after her three-month suspension ends.
The TRO she applied for before the High Tribunal will become moot and academic if issued by then, and she is not expecting the TRO to turn up anytime soon.
She maintained, though, that with a pending Supreme Court petition, the lower courts did not have jurisdiction over her case, citing judicial courtesy as stated in the Eternal Gardens Memorial Park Corp. vs Court of Appeals case. (JGA)
(July 7, 2005 issue)
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