SC assigns prospective Maute cases to CDO court
A police officer holds a poster of wanted Filipino Muslim militants known as "Maute " group at a checkpoint set up at the entrance to Iligan city Saturday, May 27, 2017 in southern Philippines. Iligan city is one of the safe havens for the tens of thousands of Marawi residents who have fled their city following the rampage by Muslim militants. AP/Bullit Marquez
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court on Tuesday designated the Cagayan de Oro City Regional Trial Court to hear, try and decide all cases involving the Maute group over the siege of Marawi City.
On May 23, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law and suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao following an armed confrontation between government troops and members of the local terror group in Marawi City.
The high court rejected the request of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to designate special courts in Luzon and Visayas to hear cases that will be filed against the Maute group.
Aguirre earlier asked Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to designate special courts outside Mindanao to protect judges from possible threats and acts of violence.
The Justice secretary argued that courts in Mindanao that will hear the cases to be filed in connection with the Marawi siege will be the target of further terror attacks.
The high court directed the Cagayan de Oro court to speedily act on all prosecutions and incidents arising from Maute takeover of Marawi City.
The Court of Appeals Mindanao station, which is also based in Cagayan de Oro, was designated to hear and act on all incidents relative to the requirements of the Human Security Act of 2007, which deals with terrorism.
The SC ordered the court administrator to coordinate with the Army's 4th Infantry Division to determine security measures for court personnel, prosecutors, lawyers and accused. — Patricia Lourdes Viray
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