Resolve 100 cases within 6 months, SC tells Cebu judge

CEBU CITY — The Supreme Court recently ordered a Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) judge here to cease and desist from hearing pending cases in his sala and focus instead on resolving at least 100 cases already submitted for decision.

The order was for MTCC Branch 6 Judge Donato Sotero Navarro to stop performing judicial and administrative functions while he decides all cases submitted for his decision and all other cases he has inherited, within a period of six months.

"This is a Solomonic order. I will comply with this order. It is an order in my favor because it takes me out of harm’s way," Navarro told reporters after receiving the Supreme Court order dated March 29.

"This order is perfect for the current situation in my court. I was practically jumping for joy when I received the order," he said.

Navarro, who has been a judge for the past four years, said the order gives him time to do the thing he loves doing, that is writing court decisions.

At least 1,000 cases are pending in his court. At least 100 have already been submitted for decision and he said it would only take him at least a month to comply with the Supreme Court order.

"This order is no big deal; it affirms that I am still the presiding judge of this court unless you choose to interpret it in a malicious way," he said, adding that another judge has been appointed in his stead to hear the pending cases.

The SC has designated Executive Judge Francisco Seville Jr., who presides over MTCC Branch 7, as the acting presiding judge of MTCC Branch 6.

Navarro admitted that for the past two weeks, he has no longer been conducting hearings after learning about the Supreme Court order, a copy of which was sent to him via fax.

Navarro, however, would not agree with his staffers’ perception that the order means he has been unseated.

"They are celebrating my ouster prematurely. The Supreme Court does not state that I am either removed or reassigned. It is simply an order for the appointment of an assisting judge," he said. — Freeman News Service