Press Release - Tolentino lauds Capas judge's rectification on Guo case

Senate Majority Leader Francis 'Tol' Tolentino on Friday lauded Tarlac court presiding judge Sarah Vedaña-delos Santos for acknowledging her fault in assuming jurisdiction over the case of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo - and more importantly, taking steps to rectify it.

Tolentino said the decision by Judge delos Santos not only affirms his earlier stand that only the Senate has a valid arrest warrant against Guo, but also prevents any 'undue influence.'

Judge delos Santos has turned over the cases to Capas RTC Executive Judge Ronald Leo T. Haban, who in turn ordered that the case be transferred to the Valenzuela City Regional Trial Court.

"I thank Honorable Judge delos Santos for acknowledging her oversight - and thus affirming that my position is right. More importantly, I thank her for taking timely steps to rectify the error," Tolentino said, noting the scheduled arraignment and pretrial of Guo on Friday afternoon is thus canceled.

"Also, the actions of Judge delos Santos are no less significant as this would prevent undue influence on the case," he added.

As a lawyer and law professor, Tolentino continues to advocate for clarity on this issue, emphasizing the importance of Republic Act 10660. His proactive approach not only highlighted the jurisdictional issue, but facilitated a quick correction to ensure the proper legal procedures were followed.

Earlier, Tolentino moved for the Senate to take custody of Guo during the Senate inquiry last Sept. 11, after arguing that the arrest warrant issued by RTC Branch 109 in Capas was in violation of RA 10660, since Guo held office in Bamban which is located in the same judicial region (Third Judicial Region).

Under Section 2 of RA 10660 on jurisdiction, "...the cases falling under the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court under this section shall be tried in a judicial region other than where the official holds office."

Thus, he said the Capas court has no jurisdiction over Guo's case - and that as of now, only the Senate's warrant of arrest "should be considered as the only valid warrant of arrest in existence."

"Apparently, the circular did not include a municipal mayor or other national and local officials