State prosecutor, Ombud won’t act on case without complaint

UNLESS there’s a complaint, both the Regional State Prosecutor (RSP) and the Ombudsman-Visayas won’t act on the dispute between a prosecutor and his former girlfriend.

“I have not received any complaint against Prosecutor Dionilo Mantos regarding this recent issue. In fact, I have not yet talked to him since the controversy broke out,” Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane said yesterday.

In case a complaint is filed against Mantos, Gubalane said he will forward it to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Internal Affairs Unit which handles complaints against prosecutors. Last October, Jocelyn Sala filed charges against Mantos, an assistant provincial prosecutor, whom she accused of beating her up in front of their child.

Mantos stands accused of violating Republic Act No. 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children (VAWC) Act of 2004. The case is pending before the DOJ.

Lawyer Ma. Corazon Naraja, spokesperson of the Ombudsman-Visayas, said they will investigate if there’s a complaint.

“Our office is ready to accept the complaint of the aggrieved person if she chooses to lodge it with our office,” she said.

While the anti-graft office has administrative disciplinary jurisdiction over the prosecutor, Naraja said Sala’s testimonies are necessary in the case,

Sala was arrested last Friday after she allegedly threw a stone at Mantos’s vehicle. The woman went to Mantos’s office to have their sick eight-month-old baby hospitalized.

Mantos, who is married, refused to give Sala money. Sala was released last Monday afternoon after Mantos chose not to file charges against her.

Sala is seeking protection from the DOJ’s Witness Protection Program after she allegedly received “death threats” from Mantos.