Osmeña to Sue Regional State Attorney

Former lawmaker Tomas R. Osmeña has threatened to file charges against Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane if the latter won’t reconsider his order assigning another prosecutor to conduct the preliminary investigation of the libel case that he had filed against broadcaster and columnist Pablito “Bobby” Nalzaro.

Gubalane had already granted the motion filed by Nalzaro asking Assistant Cebu City Prosecutors Gandhi Truya and Ma. Thereza Casiño to refrain from handling the preliminary investigation of the libel case filed by Osmeña to avoid speculations that they might be bias on their decisions.

Gubalane directed Lapu-Lapu City Assistant Prosecutor Jose Rodrigo Tagaan to conduct the preliminary investigation of the case and to prepare the necessary information before the court if evidence warrant.

Nalzaro said Truya is the son of former city prosecutor Crispulo Truya who was suspended for one year by the Department of Justice (DOJ) because he helped the complainant who claimed that the elder Truya demanded money from his client.

On the case of Casiño, Nalzaro also heard rumors that Osmeña had offered P300,000 to help her medical expenses when she was shot and injured by a foreigner named John Pope at the Palace of Justice in 2013.

Administrative supervision

Osmeña said his counsel Patrick Lucido informed him that the regional state prosecutor is vested only with the power of administrative supervision to prosecutors and does not have power to direct the city or provincial prosecutors to inhibit from handling cases.

Lucido cited the case of People vs. Garfin where the Supreme Court on March 29, 2004 ruled that “the power of administrative supervision is limited to the authority of the department or its equivalent to generally oversee the operations.

Limited authority

He further argued that even assuming that the law empowered the regional state prosecutor to direct a city or provincial prosecutor to inhibit from handling a case, it is only limited to instances when the concerned prosecutors is related to any of the parties within the sixth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity.

Gubalane, for his part, refused yet to issue statements about the Motion for Reconsideration filed by Osmeña before his office because he will be the one to resolve the issue days from now.

Nalzaro said Osmeña has the right to file a motion for reconsideration and it is up to Gubalane to resolve it.

“Iya ‘sab na nga katungod, sama nga ako ‘sab nga katungod nga mihangyo nga ipa-inhibit sila si Prosecutors Truya ug Casiño,” Nalzaro said.

According to Osmeña he will not hesitate to file the necessary charges against Gubalane if he will insist of his order reassigning the conduct of the preliminary hearing to Prosecutor Tagaan.

Osmeña appealed that the Regional State Prosecutor will reconsider and reverse its order transferring the conduct of preliminary hearing to Prosecutor Tagaan and return the case to the handling prosecutors at the Cebu City Prosecutors Office.

Nalzaro said he will not object if his libel case would be assigned to another prosecutors in Cebu City for the conduct of preliminary investigation, but not to Casiño and Truya.

“While Prosecutor Truya is a different person from his father, the fact cannot be denied that I was vital in the suspension of his father.

Ikaw ba, dili kaha ka masuko? Nalzaro said.

The libel case stemmed from Nalzaro’s comment in a local daily, which states that some of Osmeña’s evidences, which he supported when he filed 38 counts of administrative charges against Cebu City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Department of Finance, are fabricated.

Osmeña said he is not asking Nalzaro to pay damages, but he just want to prove that the tri-media personality is a liar.