Ex-RTC judge fined P10T

The Supreme Court has fined resigned Regional Trial Court judge Anacleto Caminade with P10,000 for gross ignorance of the law when he misinterpreted an SC ruling of a case that he used as his basis in denying the issuance of a warrant of arrest for three murder suspects.

Caminade was accused by Imelda Enriquez of gross ignorance of the law when the judge, who used to preside RTC Branch 6, issued an order last March 31, 2004 denying the motion of the prosecution for the issuance of warrant of arrest against murder suspects Sherwin Que alias "Bungol", Anthony John Apura and Alvin Taggart Alvez.

Enriquez is the mother of the murder victim.

Instead of issuing a warrant of arrest, Caminade remanded the case back to the Cebu City prosecutors office claiming that the preliminary investigation for the accused Alvez and Apura was not yet completed as they were denied the opportunity to file a motion for reconsideration or a petition for review before the information was filed in court.

But Enriquez claimed that Caminade erred when he ruled in effect that the investigating prosecutor cannot file a criminal information in court before the expiration of the 15-day period within which the accused are allowed by the rules of court to move for reconsideration or petition for review of an adverse resolution.

Caminade explained that his ruling was based on the SC decision in the case of Sales versus Sandiganbayan that the motion for reconsideration is an integral part of the preliminary investigation proper and that an information filed without first affording the accused his right to file motion for reconsideration, is tantamount to a denial of his rights.

But Enriquez, through her lawyers, argued that Caminade could not use the SC's ruling in the case of Sales because it involves a case cognizable by the Ombudsman and that the Rules of Procedure of the Ombudsman in conducting a preliminary hearing is different compared to what is provided in the Rules of Courts.

But Caminade insisted that while the facts of Sales' case is different, the failure to provide the accused the chance to file a motion for reconsideration is in effect deprived of his right without due process of law and it should not be overlooked.

The Office of the Court Administrator that was tasked to evaluate the case of Caminade has recommended that the latter would be slapped with a P40,000 fine because his error of judgment is so elementary.

Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban believed that Caminade failed to read the whole case of Sales versus Sandiganbayan that is why he misapprehended the doctrine laid down therein.