CAGAYAN de Oro and Camp Evangelista figured prominently yesterday during the House panel hearing on the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II told congressmen that the country’s top judge had asked him to “tone down” a letter of request for the transfer of Maute case hearings from this city to Taguig.
Aguirre said that in his meeting with Sereno in June 19, the Chief Justice told him to highlight instead the aspect that it would allow the military to focus on fighting terrorists rather than attending to detainees.
“She told me, ‘Secretary, with respect to your request, sana i-tone down mo ’yung contents ng letter na gagawin mo,’” Aguirre said.
Lawyer Lorenzo Gadon, the complainant in the impeachment case against Sereno, accused the latter of manipulating and delaying the resolution of Aguirre’s request for transfer of Maute cases outside of Mindanao.
Gadon’s allegation stemmed from Aguirre’s letter request to Sereno last May to transfer the proceedings of detained Maute members facing rebellion charges to Metro Manila due to security concerns and lack of adequate detention facilities.
In June 6, the Supreme Court assigned the Regional Trial Court to hear, try and decide all cases and incidents in connection with the Marawi attacks.
Aguirre then submitted an appeal, citing security concerns forwarded by prosecutors assigned to conduct inquest proceedings and appear in the trial of cases and lack of adequate facilities inside Camp Evangelista, the headquarters of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division.
Aguirre’s request for Taguig courts to try and resolve the cases was finally granted during an en banc session on June 27 but it was only made public by the SC on July 18.
Aguirre, during the same hearing, said he believed there was a “long delay”, spanning about 50 to 52 days, in the SC’s resolution of the request for transfer of Maute cases outside of Mindanao “because lives were at stake.”
Sereno’s lawyers said the accusation of “intentional delay” is baseless. Her lawyers said the Supreme Court en banc, and not Sereno alone, resolved the requests of Aguirre.
Her lawyers also said it only took eight days for the SC to act on Aguirre’s request. (pna)
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