OSG misses Castro, Tamano preliminary conference due to 'sheer number of documents'

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) failed to appear before the Court of Appeals (CA) for the preliminary conference of the issuance of writ of amparo and habeas data for abducted environmental activists Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro.

The preliminary conference for the issuance of the protection writs took place on Monday, running from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

In an urgent motion filed by the OSG on Monday, it said that its lawyers were unable to attend the preliminary conference due to the “sheer number of documents”  that it receives every day.

“Due to the sheer volume of documents it regularly receives on a daily basis, the OSG-DMS was able to process the transmittal of the Resolution on 18 March 2024, around 12:33 p.m., and to transmit the same to the handling division around 12:40 p.m. of the same day. Thus, Respondents and the OSG handling lawyers were unable to attend the scheduled initial preliminary conference,” the OSG’s motion read.

The OSG likewise apologized for the non-appearance.

In a separate motion, the legal counsel of Tamano and Castro said that this move by the OSG is an act of “disrespect” to the court and “compromises” the green activists' right to speedy trial.

“Verily, the non-attendance of Respondents and the OSG, apart from being disrespectful to this Honorable Court, actually compromises the right of the Petitioners to a speedy trial. Indeed a) the facts could have been stipulated; issues streamlined; c) witnesses properly identified; d) trial dates could have been properly set with the agreement of the parties, had Respondents attended the preliminary conference,” the activists’ petition read.

“Likewise, it bears noting that Respondents has a penchant for delaying the proceedings of this case which can be inferred from their dilatory motion, i.e. Very Urgent Manifestation and Motion dated 20 February 2024, wherein they pray that the proceedings be suspended for frivolous reasons,” it added. 

It could also be recalled that the OSG asked the Supreme Court (SC) on February 21 to “review and recall” the protection orders for the two environmental defenders. 

The green activists’ counsel also pointed out that the