BAGUIO CITY — The City Prosecutor’s Office under the Department of Justice (DOJ) has reported a 99.94 percent accomplishment rate in the disposition of cases from January to September this year.
City Prosecution service chief, Atty. Elmer Manuel Sagsago, in a report submitted to the city on Monday, said “we have a very high accomplishment rating and we are proud that we are able to serve the city of Baguio to the best of our ability.”
The city prosecutor’s office reported that there were nine cases pending at the end of December 2016 and that received were 1,541 new cases during the first three quarter of 2017, bringing the total number of cases to 1,550 during the period.
Of the number, the office resolved and filed 1,105 cases in court while there were 444 which were dismissed. Only one case was left pending by the end of September.
The office also received 484 complaints during the period. There were 460 informations filed in court while 24 were either dismissed or referred to other offices, recording a 100 percent disposition of complaints.
An inquest proceeding is an informal and summary investigation conducted by the public prosecutor in a criminal case involving persons arrested and detained without the benefit of a warrant of arrest issued by the court for the purpose of determining whether said persons should remain under custody and correspondingly charged in court.
The Prosecutor’s Office also received 129 cases during the same period added with one pending motion at the end of January 2016 or a total of 130 motions.
Sagsago said 125 motions were resolved by the end of the third quarter, recording 96.15 percent of motions attended to.
The lawyer said the number of cases that have been reaching their office is continuously increasing and the lawyers are having a hard time trying to deal with the problem of investigating cases and at the same time prosecuting cases in court.
Contributory to the good accomplishment is the Baguio City Police Office’s (BCPO) continuous arrest of criminals, preparing of evidence which the office uses in court and for punctually testifying in court.
Sagsago also mentioned of the important role of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) that has custody over prisoners and the active participation of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the City Social Welfare and Development Office (OCSWDO) on cases involving women and children in conflict with the law.
Recently, he said there were two new prosecutors who joined the Baguio office including four secretaries but just the same, the office staff are hard up in coping with the numerous cases.
“We have asked the city council if they can create new positions so that we can cope up with the work,” Sagsago said. (PNA)
