DOJ asked to come up with direct filing of case guidelines

To limit areas of discretion by the government prosecutorial service, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero asked yesterday the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue guidelines on when a case should be filed with the fiscal’s office or directly with the DOJ panel of prosecutors.

Escudero made the appeal after an illegal detention case was lodged against some leaders of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) with the DOJ panel of prosecutors and reportedly taken cognizance of by DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima.

This led to the allegation that De Lima was being biased in favor of an INC minister who alleged to have been illegally detained on orders of the INC hierarchy.

The filing of this specific case not with the fiscal’s office, but directly with the DOJ panel of prosecutors eliminates one level of appeal for the parties involved in a case, Escudero said.

As a former practicing lawyer, Escudero said he and other lawyers have openly criticized this unresolved issue.

“When does an investigation start at the fiscal’s office and when does a case start at the DoJ panel of prosecutors,” he asked.

Escudero pointed out that lawyers of Janet Lim Napoles, alleged brains behind the 10 billion pork barrel scam, criticized why the Napoles case was filed directly with the DOJ panel of prosecutors because the level of appeal has been subtracted.

This was the same sentiment expressed by lawyers of respondents in the Vhong Navarro serious illegal detention case, he added.

“This should be cleared up” as it has an impact on future cases, he added.

Another reason why there is a public furor over the INC case was the non adoption of the “first-in, first-out” system in which the first case filed must be resolved before proceeding to the next, he said.

Sen. Grace Poe had pointed out that there are many cases lodged with the DOJ awaiting resolution and that De Lima had said she was doing her duty and had met with the rallyists identified with the INC.