Arrest warrants first, HDO after: ex-justice

MANILA - Retired Sandiganbayan Justice Rodolfo Palattao is questioning the issuance of hold departure orders against senators and their co-accused in the pork scam before arrest warrants were issued. Palattao said the Sandiganbayan should have determined by now if there is probable cause. He said the Sandiganbayan can handle the cases even if that seems to be a daunting task. "It is not a difficult thing to do. These justices, they are trained to know what are the facts and what are not the facts so let's give them a chance to go and follow the rules as provided. Let's have the issuance of arrest warrant, in order for Sandiganbayan to have jurisdiction over the accused. Then after the sandiganbayan has jurisdiction, let's set case for arraignment. I'm just wondering why HDO preceded the issuance of warrant of arrest," he said. The retired justice believes the trial should not take years if the courts will follow proper procedure. "The rule of court says it should be continuous trial. From the time a pre-trial order is issued, the court is mandated to hear within period of not more than 180 days. But what happens, we attribute the delay to the lawyer. Sometimes we ignore the rules of court," he said. MORNINGS@ANC, June 19, 2014