Sellon orders Castro back to work

Controversial Cebu City assistant prosecutor Mary Ann Castro will again be busy handling inquest proceedings and other prosecution duties in courts starting tomorrow after city prosecutor Nicolas Sellon ordered her to report back to work after a three-month suspension.

Sellon yesterday issued a memorandum ordering Castro to resume her court and inquest duties as well as the handling of cases under preliminary investigation unless there are orders from the Sandiganbayan or Department of Justice for her to refrain from handling her job.

After the Sandiganbayan ordered a 90-day preventive suspension on Castro and denied her motion for reconsideration, Sellon issued a memorandum warning Castro against handling preliminary investigations and attending court duties as government prosecutor.

Sellon said even though he did not receive an order to implement the Sandiganbayan order, he was afraid that if he allowed her to go on working somebody will question it.

He said it did not mean that he already implemented her suspension but just wanted to "provide emergency measures pending full implementation of the suspension".

After Castro was refrained from handling of cases, her cases were re-raffled to other prosecutors.

The Sandiganbayan preventively suspended Castro on April 11 while her violation of Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees was being heard. Castro is accused of accepting P10,000 so she would not be active in prosecuting the motion for bail of alleged Hong Kong Triad member Giovanni "Nanan" Gimenez.

Castro said a lawyer left the money on her table and asked her to go slow on prosecuting Gimenez's motion to bail. Castro refused to accept the money but the man left it anyway.

Castro tried turning over the money over to then city prosecution chief Jose Pedrosa who would not take it.- Rene U. Borromeo