Courts to suspend hearings this month for inventory

EXCEPT for cases that need immediate action, all courts in Cebu City and around the country won’t hold hearings within this month to give judges and court employees time to conduct a physical inventory of all pending cases and properties.

“Twice every year, we have to update the Supreme Court (SC) regarding the cases assigned to the respective courts, and how judges handle them,” said lawyer Chevin Vasquez, clerk of court of the Regional Trial Court Branch 9 in Cebu City.

Under OCA Circular No. 17-2003, all clerks of courts and accountable officers of all trial courts must conduct a physical inventory of cases and properties.

As directed by the High Court, the inventory months are January and July, During these periods, trial courts usually do not conduct trials.

But they still attend to cases concerning bail matters, arraignment, writ of habeas corpus, writ of habeas data, and writ of amparo.

The court inventory must be witnessed by a representative of the Commission on Audit, and shall be supervised by all executive and presiding judges.

Through a physical inventory of cases, the High Court will know whether or not judges comply with the rules, including the requirement to decide a criminal case 90 days after it was submitted for decision.

Late last year, a retired judge in Cebu was fined P100,000 by the High Court  for failing to resolve 191 cases before his term ended in 2011.

The judge was found administratively guilty of “undue delay in rendering decisions” within the mandatory 90-day period.