Quezon City prosecutor replaces Zuño

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City Prosecutor Claro Arellano is the new chief state prosecutor at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

President Arroyo named Arellano to replace Jovencito Zuño, who retired last week, upon advice of Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera.

As chief state prosecutor, Arellano will head the National Prosecution Service and oversee more than 2,000 regional, provincial and city prosecutors and assistant state prosecutors.

Arellano was part of the prosecution panel, headed by Zuño, that successfully prosecuted the Gomez-Sarmenta rape-murder case in the 1990s.

Mayor Antonio Sanchez of Calauan, Laguna and his bodyguards were convicted as a result of their efforts.

Arellano also took part in the indictment of the accused in the Payumo massacre in Cabuyao, Laguna.

Prior to his appointment, Arellano served as director of the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Program for Southern Tagalog.

Under his watch, the plunder case against Internal Revenue official Dominga Manalili was successfully prosecuted.

Arellano said he had worked with Zuño in high-profile cases such as the Vizconde massacre and the rape case against former mayor Sanchez.

“It’s good to be back in the place (DOJ) where I started my career in government service,” he said.

After graduating from the Ateneo Law School in 1981, Arellano worked for the Agcaoili Law Offices and the Private Development Corp. of the Philippines, until he was named acting state prosecutor in 1988.

He was promoted to regional state prosecutor for Southern Tagalog in 1991 and was appointed Quezon City prosecutor in 1998.

A certification issued by the DOJ dated Feb. 8 states: “This is to certify that based on available records of this Office... City Prosecutor Claro Arellano, of Quezon City, has no pending administrative case filed against him.”

Arellano’s appointment as chief state prosecutor was backed by the National Prosecutors League of the Philippines (NPLP) and the Chief Prosecutors Association, Inc., which he had founded. – Edu Punay, Reinir Padua