Pulupandan mayoralty candidate Magdaleno Peña yesterday said his political opponent Samson Mondia is wrong and that Judge Manuel Limsiaco Jr. of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Valladolid-San Enrique-Pulupandan who issued the arrest warrants against supporters of Mondia did not err.

On Wednesday, Mondia said an administrative charge would be filed against Limsiaco for failure to conduct a preliminary investigation before issuing warrants of arrest on 26 persons, 25 of who are his supporters.

The 26 are facing charges for theft and grave threats for removing fences Peña had set up on Montilla property in Greenbeach, Pulupandan.

The residents said they removed the obstructions because they were blocking the pathways leading to their residences. Limsiaco's issuance of the warrants of arrest was premature, Mondia said, pointing out that grave threats and theft charges involving small amounts should pass through barangay hearings.

Mondia also said that, effective December, judges in municipalities cannot perform the investigation of cases, they should be done by a prosecutor. If the prosecutor finds prima facie evidence, then he files the case in court, Mondia said.

Peña said that, contrary to what Mondia said the Municipal Circuit Trial Court has the jurisdiction to conduct preliminary examinations and issue warrants of arrest on cases cognizable by the MCTC, like the ones filed against his supporters.

What was removed was the authority of the MCTC to conduct preliminary examinations of crimes cognizable by the Regional Trial Court, he said.

So if Mondia got advice from the two lawyers he sent to help the squatters facing eviction raps, one of whom immediately apologized to the court and withdrew, and the other one who did not even appear in court, he and his supporters are on the road to perdition, Peña said.

Peña also pointed out that there is no prosecutor assigned to Pulupandan.*CPG

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