By REY G. PANALIGAN
The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the transfer of the trial and detention of the arrested supporters and members of the MauteGroup from Cagayan de Oro City to Taguig City.
In a full court resolution released yesterday, the SC directed the Taguig City regional trial court (RTC) to “speedily act on all prosecutions and incidents arising from the violent incidents in Marawi City involving the Maute Group.”
In the same resolution, the SC “designated the Special Intensive Care Area (SICA) located at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, instead of Camp Evangelista, Patag, Cagayan de Oro City, as the temporary detention facility of any suspects, subject to the instruction to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to expedite the relocation of any suspects to a suitable detention facility.”
In ordering the transfer of the trial and detention of the suspects in the Marawi City siege, the SC acted on two letters sent to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.
In both letters, Aguirre requested the transfer of the cases of the suspects outside Cagayan de Oro City because of its proximity to Marawi City and Lanao del Norte.
Aguirre had designated 30 prosecutors to handle the prosecution of the cases.
Reacting to the SC resolution, Aguirre said: “It will solve a lot of problems like where the detainees are to be confined and wherever we are going to rent a new place to hold the inquest and conduct preliminary investigations.”