Capitol to reinstate prosecutors’ allowances

Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia has allowed the return of the alllwance of the Provincial Prosecutors. /CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Amid the recall of provincial prosecutors from their cases in first level courts, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has announced that they will receive their allowances anew starting this October.

The prosecutors stopped  receiving  their  P12,000 to P15,000 monthly allowances since Garcia’s assumption in 2019.

In an interview on Tuesday afternoon, October 22, Garcia said she ordered for the temporary stoppage of the disbursement of the prosecutors’ allowances, along with other officials who had been receiving stipends under the previous administration, pending review and rationalization.

Garcia said she was shocked that the Capitol was spending over P100 million annually for the allowances of some officials, including the prosecutors.

The governor said she needed to conduct a reassessment if those who received the “hefty” allowances really deserved them.

“Some of these [ who receive allowances], I cannot see rhyme or reason why we need to give them allowances unless we just want to be on good terms with them,” Garcia said.

“We recognize that the provincial prosecutors have a lot of work that involve cases and concerns of Cebuanos. We will grant them allowances in the amount that the province can afford,” she added.

Garcia, however, hoped that the temporary cut in the prosecutors’ allowances was not the reason behind their decision to let go of the cases in the Municipal Trial Courts (MTCs), Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCCs), and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (MTCC).

Read more: Borgonia: Deputizing police prosecutors will be ‘a great injustice’ to private complainants

Read more: PB summons Provincial Prosecutor for delegating police to act as prosecutors in lower courts

In a memorandum issued last September, Provincial Prosecutor Ludivico Cutaran deputized members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to prosecute criminal cases cognizable by first-level courts.

LOOK: Provincial Prosecutor Ludivico Cutaran explains to the Provincial Board his decision to deputize policemen to prosecute cases in first level courts.| Gerard Francisco

Cutaran cited the volume of their workloads as reasons behind the delegation of the task.

The prosecutor’s decision was first questioned by Board Member John Ismael Borgonia of Cebu’s third district, also a lawyer, as the deputation allegedly causes “a great injustice to private complainants.”

Borgonia, in an earlier interview, explained that the police, though knowledgeable of the merits of the complaint, might be caught short-handed with the skills to prosecute cases and examine witnesses.

During his appearance before the Provincial Board yesterday, Cutaran denied that it was their lack of allowances that prompted them to deputize the police in the first level courts.

Cutaran maintained that the volume of the cases that they are handling and the lack in the number of prosecutors prompted his decision./dbs