City fiscals want to stay at present bldg

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City prosecutors have asked the Cebu provincial government to allow them to continue to stay at the Marcelo Fernan Hall of Justice located behind the Capitol.

The building has been declared unsafe for occupancy after it sustained damage when the magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Central Visayas last year, but the prosecutors said they would opt to stay there, at least for now, while their transfer is still being finalized.

“What we understand from the governor is that he is willing to give us the usufruct of the particular land but what we preferred, particularly the Cebu City prosecutors, is to stay there in our area,” said Assistant Cebu City Prosecutor Aida Sanchez.

The Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office occupies the left wing of the Palace of Justice on the ground floor.

Sanchez said Governor Hilario Davide promised to accommodate the prosecutors at the Department of Agriculture compound near the Capitol, which sits on a province-owned property, but it is unclear whether the lot will be donated to the Department of Justice, the prosecutors’ head agency.

Until the matter is resolved, Sanchez said the prosecutors plan to ask the DOJ for funds to fix the upper floor of Hall of Justice’s left wing.

The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office and the Regional State Prosecutor’s Office are now renting a building at the Taft Commercial Center along Osmeña Boulevard, but provincial prosecutors continue to conduct inquest proceedings at the building of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines located within the Capitol compound. 

Capitol earlier expressed its plan to take possession of the courthouse. Davide said there is no document that would show that the area was donated by the provincial government either to the Supreme Court or to the DOJ.

Davide said he has yet to confer with Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and DOJ Secretary Leila De Lima about the matter.  (FREEMAN)