Ex-Cordova mayor Sitoy-Cho’s bench warrant lifted due to court error
Former Cordova mayor Therese Sitoy-Cho | File Photo
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — Former Cordova Mayor Therese Sitoy-Cho clarified that the bench warrant issued by Mandaue City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 55 against her on April 23, 2024, was immediately lifted by Judge Ferdinand Tapado Rafanan the following day.
This occurred after the court committed an error during that hearing.
According to the former mayor, the notice they received from the court indicated it was just a hearing, not an arraignment.
She stated that her legal counsels advised her not to attend the hearing based on this understanding.
“Naay misunderstanding ato, seguro huna-huna ni judge nga sa next hearing with arraignment, pero dili. Sa iyang last order, before to nahitabo, walay gi-mention nga arraignment. Hearing lang ang naka-set. So, my lawyers advised me nga pwede ra dili mo-attend. Di man to arraignment,” Cho said.
However, on that day, Judge Rafanan issued a bench warrant against Cho for her failure to attend the said arraignment.
“Pero nag-urgent motion mi to lift the bench warrant kay wala may basis unta kay dili man to arraignment nga schedule. Gi-grant raman pod ni Judge unya the following day gi-lift (ang bench warrant),” she added.
The complaint stemmed from Cho’s order to transfer a certain Juliete Tampus during the election period without seeking exemption from the Comelec.
Tampus, an employee of the Municipal Agriculture Office, was transferred to another office in January 2022 during the election period for the May 2022 Presidential Election.
Under Section 261(h) of the Omnibus Election Code, it is prohibited for a public official to transfer or detail any officer or employee in the civil service, including public school teachers, within the election period except upon prior approval from the Comelec.
However, Cho clarified that the employee was originally assigned to the mayor’s office and that she had just designated herself to the Municipal Agriculture Office without any formal order of reassignment.
“Gipabalik raman to siya sa mayor’s office,” she added.
However, the Human Resource Department issued a memorandum about the reassignment without her knowledge.
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