"Tardy" Toledo fiscal won't get allowance

CEBU, Philippines - A prosecutor of Toledo City will not receive his allowance this month after the Supreme Court granted the letter endorsed by Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane withholding his allowance.

According to Gubalane the prosecutor did not resolve the cases he handled within the allowed 60-day timeframe.

The prosecutor, who was not named by Gubalane, has 20 cases pending.

Gubalane further said that the prosecutor can receive his allowance after he has resolved the 20 cases.

However Gubalane admitted that there are prosecutors who exceed in the timeframe and they give extension if they evaluate the case. But then if there is no valid reason why the prosecutors did not resolve the case within the timeframe he will immediately endorse a letter to the Supreme Court to withhold the allowances of the prosecutor.

Gubalane further said that there are three more prosecutors from the Negros Oriental Prosecutors Office who did not resolve the cases they handled with the allowed time. He added he will send a letter within this week to the Supreme Court to also withhold the allowances of the other three prosecutors.

“It is my first time to implement this law,” Gubalane said.

“With this directive shall be grounds for the withholding of allowances without prejudice to the administrative disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed whenever appropriate”.

It was a rule made by acting Secretary Department of Justice Manila Silvestre Bello dated February 6, 1998.

Meanwhile Gubalane also lauded DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima’s plan to hire more prosecutors.

“It’s good because we lack prosecutors in fact in the Provincial Prosecutors Office the allocation is 42 but the actual is 30, in City Prosecutors Office allocation is 33 but the actual is 21, and in Bohol the allocation is 23 but the actual is only eight,” he said.