Five months after Sellon retired: Short list not yet drawn for new Cebu City fiscal

CEBU, Philippines- Five months after Atty. Nicolas Sellon opted for early retirement, the Department of Justice still has to endorse a name for President Benigno Aquino III to choose from as the next Cebu City prosecutor.

DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima said the list for Sellon’s replacement is still under deliberation by the Prosecution and Selection Board headed by the prosecutor general of the DOJ National Prosecution Service.

After which, she said, the short list will be forwarded to her before it would be given to the Office of the President for approval.

De Lima, though, did not provide the names of those vying for the position.

Upon his retirement last year, however, Sellon revealed that Prosecutors Mary Ann Castro, Liceria Lofranco-Rabillas, and Aida Sanchez are interested in the post.

While it is the president who appoints Sellon’s successor, the DOJ, through de Lima is the one that should endorse the short-listed candidates.

New office

Meanwhile, de Lima, who was one of the speakers of last week’s 15th Integrated Bar of the Philippines National Convention held in Cebu City, said she has already directed DOJ’s Finance Service to look for a suitable place as new space for the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

The prosecutors are currently occupying the left wing of the Marcelo Fernan Hall of Justice, which has been declared as unfit for occupancy following the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in October 2013.

“Hindi problema ang budget basta ma identify nila ang place. So far, I have not received any info na may nakita na sila. E-fast-track ko ito,” said de Lima.

She, however, clarified that their budget is only for space rental and not for the construction of a new building.

“Ideally, I would have wanted a prosecutor’s building in major centers of the country like Cebu; but problema ang budget,” she said.

New criminal code

In the same gathering last week, de Lima urged the House of Representatives and the Senate to already pass the New Criminal Code of the Philippines.

 “We (DOJ) urged both Houses to support and passed this proposed bill as a testament to our commitment to improve criminal justice in our country,” she said.

De Lima, who spoke on “Reforming and Strengthening the Prosecution Pillar,” told the over 5,000 lawyers in attendance that she received information that the bill could no longer pass both legislatures due to time constraint.

“Sabi nila there is simply no time to deliberate on such major bill. The Senate finds the bill as revolutionary. Hindi daw madaling ipasa because it really would make a complete overhaul of our penal laws, which have antiquated and obsolete provisions,” de Lima said.

She said that the legislative bodies’ Criminal Code Committee is mandated to bring together criminal justice stakeholders to review the existing penal laws to ensure consistency and to craft a new code that is “updated, modern, simplified, responsive and truly Filipino.”

The new code, de Lima said, would improve the administration of justice in the country and enhance the poor’s and the marginalized sectors’ access to justice.

She said integration into one of Book 1 and Book 2 of the existing code was already completed July last year.

 “We already endorsed this bill to Congress and to the Senate. The ball now is in their hands,” she said.

As to her speech, she talked about the need to re-evaluate long-held notions on the role of the prosecutors and what constitutes the best procedure to achieve justice for all, as part of efforts to reform and strengthen the prosecution system of the country.

“We will continue to work to improve the delivery of justice and to achieve this, we request your support and encouragement as we (strive to) realize our joint task,” she said. — /RHM (FREEMAN)