CH to address complaint on public notary runners

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Legal Office will decide on what interventions to undertake against “runners” for notary public outside the City Hall who are allegedly already a disturbance.

This came after a woman wrote to the Cebu City government complaining about notary runners and their clients “arguing on top of their voices” within the premises of the City Hall and Plaza Sugbu.

 “I regularly do transactions in the Cebu City Hall. I personally have witnessed a number of ‘runners’ for lawyers/notary public doing transactions right in front of the legislative building and Plaza Sugbu. And it is so devastating to see runners and clients doing usual course of their business in front of the Legislative building and hear them arguing on top of their voices as well,” said Divina Lim.

Lim, who identified herself as stakeholder of the Cebu City government, addressed the letter to the city through the office of Councilor Sisinio Andales.

 “In this regard, I would like to request your office to do the necessary interventions to direct these ‘runners’ not to litter and to refrain from doing their transactions within the Cebu City Hall premises including Plaza Sugbu,” Lim added.

During the council’s regular session on Tuesday, Andales, the deputy mayor for peace and order and labor, referred the matter to the City Legal Office.

“Let’s ask city legal office for suggestion on how to stop this,” he said.

Councilor Joy Pesquera, a lawyer, questioned though why the letter should be referred to the city’s legal team considering that this is already outside city hall.

City Legal Office chief, lawyer Joseph Bernaldez, said the matter also has “nothing to do with them,” since “first of all, the runners are men of the notaries outside city hall.”

He said he has received a copy of the letter with the request for his office to suggest appropriate action.

“We might ask the notaries within the vicinity of the city hall to advise their runners not to behave as barkers because it’s demeaning to us lawyers to allow such scheme. It would appear as though notary services is purely business undertaking,” said Bernaldez.

He said he will discuss the matter with his staff next week since he is still in Tagbilaran City attending the wake of his deceased sister. (FREEMAN)