BAGUIO CITY — The Baguio City Prosecutor’s Office has resolved nearly all the cases filed from January to May this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Baguio has reported.
In an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday, Baguio City Chief Prosecutor Elmer Manuel Sagsago said 620 of the total 929 cases filed in the first five months of 2018 have been resolved, while 276 were dismissed or referred to other offices, leaving only 33 pending as of the end of May.
Based on records he presented at Monday’s flag-raising ceremony, he said that of the total cases, two were actually forwarded from Dec. 31, 2017, and added to the 927 filed from January to May 2018.
All inquest proceedings, or those cases where the suspects were immediately jailed whether they were proven guilty or not, were all disposed of--100 percent--said Sagsago. A total of 215 such cases were filed with the City Prosecutor's Office from January to May, he said.
Of the total 929 cases, 276 were either dismissed or referred to other offices, while 33 are pending as of the end of May.
The lawyer added that the bulk of the cases filed before the city prosecutor’s office were for estafa, followed by physical injuries.
Sagsago also noted a downtrend in the number of cases of illegal drugs since the start of the Duterte administration.
“The volume of drug cases have lessened. Hindi na kagaya noon (Unlike before). Now, we only receive three or less in a month,” the chief prosecutor said.
He said that about 99.9 percent of drug cases are filed in court. “My policy, when it comes to drugs, is we dismiss it if there is clear evidence that it is dismissible. Otherwise, we always file the case,” he added.
The lawyer also noted a rise in estafa cases in the city, making up the bulk of cases filed at his office, likely due to the very low amount of bail imposed in these cases.
He cited one case, where the amount involved had reached millions of pesos, but the bail bond was just below one hundred thousand pesos.
The city's chief prosecutor assured of continued speedy resolution of cases filed before the city justice department -- whether elevating the cases to court, dismissing them, or referring them for further investigation. (PNA)
