Cebu judge unaware of furor over her post

FORMER Cebu Judge Geraldine Faith Econg said she was unaware of the furor over her appointment to head the Regional Court Administration Office (RCAO) in Central Visayas which was reopened last Thursday.

She was on leave when Cebu Daily News tried to reach her for comment yesterday.

“I have no idea. Am in Singapore,” she said in a text message. She returns on Saturday.

Econg served as Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge in Cebu City for five years before she was appointed in 2010 to serve as director of the Program Management Office of the Supreme Court.

The RCAO-7 is located at the Lapu-Lapu City Hall of Justice in Cebu.

It was launched in 2008 by former chief justice Reynato Puno as a pilot project to decentralize administrative functions of the Manila-based Office of the Court Administrator.

The idea was to have problems addressed faster and more efficiently at the regional level instead of bringing them up to the Manila head office.

Not all parties are convinced this is an effective setup to enhance “autonomy, accountability and efficiency of the judiciary.”

Some court employees have complained of delays in the release of their allowances and “rude” RCAO -7 office staff.

“The idea behind creating RCAO was to make service more accessible. It’s better to decentralize the services of the High Court,” said Associate Justice Gabriel Ingles of the Court of Appeals in an interview. He declined to comment on the controversy over the Chief Justice’s paperwork.

Cebu RTC Judge Meinrado Pardes said the controversy may have something to do with the Court Administrator’s opposition to the creation of the RCAO-7.

“The OCA doesn’t want the RCAO-7 to exist. Perhaps, OCA does not like decentralization of services,” he told Cebu Daily News.

The OCA is headed by Court Administartor Jose Midas Marquez, who has been associated with impeached chief justice Renato Corona.

Paredes was present during the ceremonial reopening of the RCAO-7 last Oct. 29.

He said Chief Justice Sereno thanked the judges for their support while Econg expressed gratitude for her appointment as head of the new office.

Lawyer Earl Bonachita, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City chapter, said it’s only fair to hear the explanation of Chief Justice’s Sereno.

“We are not prepared to make any conclusion or condemnation until her side is also heard. That is the essence of due process which the highest magistrate is also entiled to,” said Bonachita.

Econg as one of the judges who handled the parricide case of former Dinagat Rep. Ruben Ecleo before she inhibited herself.

A profile of Econg in the SC website described her as a “green” advocate who dreamed of becoming a leading environmental jurist.

She studied law in the University of San Carlos in Cebu where she graduated cum laude.

She was a practicing lawyer for five years before she was appointed to the bench. Her clients were mostly engaged in mining, quarry and cement production. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol