RTC settles more cases despite lack of judges

The Regional Trial Courts in Cebu City has been saddled with lack of judges but records showed that the number of resolved cases even surpassed the total cases filed last year.

The available judges last year resolved 6,036 cases, including those carryovers from 2004. This even exceeded the 6,009 total cases filed in last year alone.

In 2004, the number of cases reached 6,688 and the courts disposed 5,614 cases that same year, records showed.

According to sources at the RTC, some of the judges last year doubled their efforts and even attended to cases in those branches where there were no judges handling.

With the recent assignment of four new judges for RTC in Cebu City, more pending cases would be resolved as a result, said the source.

The new RTC judges are former prosecutor Gilbert Moises, assigned to Branch 18, judge Ramon Daomiles for Branch 11, judge Manuel Patalinghug for Branch 22 and Sylva Paderanga for Branch 16.

Only Branches 6 and 8 are presently without no presiding judges yet. Judge Anacleto Caminade, of Branch 6, had just resigned while the judge of Branch 8 already retired.

In 2004, pairing judges, or judges from other branches, were assigned to handle RTC branches 8, 11, 12, 16, 18 and 22. A judge in one of these branches got promoted as justice, another one retired while the one was dismissed from service.

There were six judges who were given an additional assignment -as pairing judge to handle the continuation of the trial of cases in six RTC branches, but some of them already stopped when the SC appointed new judges to preside some of these branches.

The SC said that budget constraint was the main reason why hiring of judges for vacant branches could not be implemented with dispatch. - Rene U. Borromeo