Prosecutor in Ong’s case may be cited for contempt

A provincial prosecutor may find himself in trouble for accusing a Makati City judge of partiality and bias for dismissing the serious illegal detention charges against former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director Samuel Ong.

1st Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Jaime Umpa, of the Department of Justice (DOJ), now has until next Monday to explain why he should not be held in contempt for using foul language and malicious insinuations in his motion asking Regional Trial Court Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon to inhibit himself from the case.

Umpa, who heads the DOJ’s panel tasked to prosecute Ong, was given 10 days to submit a written explanation for his actions.

Pozon, the same judge handling the Subic rape case against the four US servicemen, is yet to decide whether or not he will inhibit himself from the Ong case.

Umpa, for his part, said he is now preparing a written explanation. He said the court found certain parts of his motion offensive but he never intended to offend. — Michael Punongbayan