Umpa takes on illegal trafficking case dismissed by City Prosecutor

By LITO RULONA,
Correspondent

The Regional Prosecution Office (RPO) has intervened on the case of 13 workers who asked for immediate repatriation in Malaysia which was reportedly dismissed at the City Prosecutor’s Office (CPO) recently.

Regional Prosecutor  Jaime Umpa has issued a regional order number 2016-036 asking City Prosecutor Fidel A. Macauyag thru Ms. Erlinda O. Opeña, administrative officer to turn-over the complete records of the dismissed case to the panel of prosecutor he designates on Friday.

Umpa designated Senior Assistant Regional Prosecutor Merlyn B. Uy; Assistant Regional Prosecutor Irene A. Meso and Assistant City ProsecutorRuby T. Malanog to compose the panel who will handle the case.

“In the interest of public service, pursuant to existing laws, and in view of the Omnibus Motion filed by Atty. James Kiunisala Judith II, counsel for the complainants, alleging bias and partiality and asking for the inhibition of the Office of the City Prosecutor of Cagayan de Oro, a panel of prosecutors is hereby constituted,” part of the order reads.

The panel of prosecutors is hereby designated as Acting City Prosecutor of Cagayan de Oro City to handle the preliminary investigation and resolve pending incidents in the cases entitle “Christopher Sanchez, et al., vs Amy Bendisula, et, al., for: Large Scale/Syndicated Illegal Recruitment and Syndicated Estafa” docketed as NPS X-06-INV-15H-2284 to 2288 & 2292, and if evidence warrants, to file the corresponding information/s in court.

Last week, Atty. Judith files Omnibus Motion for the City Prosecutors Office to recuse and refer the conduct of preliminary investigation to the Regional State Prosecutor (RSP).

Judith in his motion claimed that magnitude demands the unbiased assessment and impartiality of a prosecutor whose conduct in the prosecution thereof is beyond question and credibility is unassailable. However, it appears that the office cannot live up to the stringent requirements and standards of the law to see to it that justice is done in the conduct in the preliminary investigation.

Of the 10 cases separately filed, he claimed that it is just incomprehensible that all of the cases filed not one ever prospered or an indictment ever made against those responsible in perpetrating these evils.

“It cannot be helped that any reasonable mind would conclude that there is the unseen hand that works its way through for how else do you explain the apparent pattern and consistency of all the cases filed before the office that were dismissed simply on the predicate that the evidence presented are not enough to prod the prosecution to make an indictment,” part of Judith motion reads.

Last week, Atty. Jerome Jarales, legal counsel of Philippine School of Science and Technology (PSST) claimed that the school administration is innocent of the crime and even also the victim.