MANILA – The Supreme Court has rejected a request by the Department of Justice to move to courts in Luzon and Visayas the cases against key figures of the Maute Group, responsible for the two-week siege of Marawi City.
Instead, the SC designated certain courts in Cagayan de Oro City for the purpose, something that Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II is not comfortable with. He noted that Cagayan de Oro is too near Marawi and the Lanao provinces, and might be too risky for the court and DOJ personnel and lawyers handling the cases.
He has directed DOJ lawyers to file a motion for reconsideration with the SC, following issuance of the order by the SC en banc, acting on a letter he sent to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Courts and government offices are among the most heavily damaged in the fighting between the government and the Maute-led forces — which include some units of the Abu Sayyaf and other armed groups — since violence broke out May 23.
The judges and prosecutors in Marawi are concerned about their safety, said Aguirre.
He earlier wrote Sereno to transfer the Maute cases to special courts in the Visayas and Luzon.
“The events which unfold recently, however, have led me to believe that the courts in Mindanao, more so in Marawi City, which will hear the cases to be filed in connection with this uprising shall be the target of further terror attacks,” Aguirre had written Sereno.
Aguirre added he strongly believed the courts in Mindanao might be the next target of the extremists.
The SC sitting en banc rejected Aguirre’s request on Tuesday, however. Instead of transfering the cases outside Mindanao, the SC designated the regional trial court in Cagayan de Oro City to hear and try cases against the Maute Group members who attacked Marawi.
“The court [SC] directs these courts to speedily act on all prosecutions and incidents arising from the Maute Group takeover of Marawi City, complying with the revised guidelines on continuous trial and all relevant court resolutions and issuances designed to expedite criminal prosecutions such as, but not limited to, the use of conditional examination of witnesses, depositions and interrogatories, and extended pre-trial proceedings to facilitate the trial. For this purpose, the judicial affidavit rule is hereby expressly made applicable to all cases that may be filed,” Atty. Theodore Te, SC spokesman, told media in a briefing.
The Court of Appeals Mindanao in Cagayan de Oro was also tasked by the SC to hear cases lodged in connection with violations of the Human Security Law or Republic Act 9372, added Te.
The SC has given orders to ensure the safety of the employees of the courts and the prosecutors’ offices; as well as the lawyers and the accused.
It ordered the detention of the accused in Camp Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro.
The SC directed the Court Administrator to coordinate with the commanding general of the Fourth Infantry Division (4th ID) stationed at Camp Evangelista, “to determine appropriate security measures for court personnel, prosecutors, lawyers, and accused as well as appropriately secure detention facilities” to be located within the camp “but under the supervision and control of the RTC of Cagayan de Oro city.”
In a text message, DOJ chief Aguirre said the transfer to CDO is “not okay with us because it is too near to the Lanaos and Marawi City. I told them to file MR,” or a motion for reconsideration.
