The City Legal Office reported its significant accomplishment pursuant to its mandate for the existing year during the regular flag raising ceremony at the City Hall grounds last Monday.
Assistant City Legal officer Atty. Melchor Carlos Rabanes explained the mandate of the City Legal Office is to serve as legal counsel of the city and its officials acting in their official capacity.
He disclosed that as of May 2019, there were 283 cases pending before the Regional Trial Courts (RTC) and the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) plus some 17 cases that had been received from June to November 15, 2019.
Of the 300 cases pending before the different courts, 12 were decided upon by the concerned courts with 11 decisions in favour of the city and only one decision against the city.
Of the 52 cases pending before the Supreme Court (SC) and the Court of Appeals (CA), 3 decisions were handed down with 2 decisions in favour of the city while 1 decision was against the city.
On the 67 cases pending before the Ombudsman, 1 decision was handed down in favour of the city while there was no case that was decided against the city government.
He claimed that there are still 15 cases pending before the National Commission on Indigenous Peples (NCIP) wherein no case has yet been resolved either or against the city government.
Rabanes revealed that of the 201 cases heard by the City Anti-Squatting and Illegal Structures Committee, 37 resolutions were issued aside from the 6 notices of demolition and 9 demolition orders.
The City Legal Office reviewed some 1,293 contracts that included agreements, lease contracts in the city market, among others, with 134 infrastructure contracts drafted and reviewed.
According to him, the office rendered 58 legal opinions and 110 outgoing communications addressed to the concerned offices inside and outside the city government.
Rabanes added the legal office, being the repository of license plates confiscated for violation of the city’s anti-smoking ordinance, released 233 plates upon the payment of fines composed of 119 private vehicles, 85 taxis, 26 jeepneys, 2 government vehicles not owned by the city government and one van.
He said the legal office attended to some 986 walk-in clients over the past several months who had sought the legal opinion of the office on various personal or work-related concerns that resulted to the clients being clarified on their pressing problems.
Rabanes asserted the present staff of the legal office will continue serving the greater interest of the city government so that officials and employees can effectively and efficiently discharge their duties and responsibilities for the greater benefit of the general public.
By Dexter A. See
Photo by: Armando Bolislis
