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The Cebu provincial government is not worried that the additional cash allowances which the Cebu City government plans to give to judges will affect their independence.
?I have a high regard for judges. I don't think the allowances will affect their judicial discretion,? Capitol consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda said.
Sepulveda commented after the Cebu city government sued the Capitol and other government officials over ownership of the lot which the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA-7) used to occupy.
Sepulveda said he was happy the city will provide additional allowances to the judges whom he said deserved the raise.
?If the Cebu City government can sustain it, then it?s good. But I don't know why the additional allowances came during a time when the elections are approaching,? he said.
On Thursday, the Cebu City government made good on its plan to sue the Cebu provincial government over ownership of the six-hectare lot along M. Velez St. in barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.
Named respondents were Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap; DA-7 director Ricardo Oblena; DA-7 technical directors Angel Enriquez and Edwardo Alama; DA-7 administrative officer Reinerio Zeta; DA-7 legal officer Samuel Dinoy; and the Register of Deeds of Cebu City.
The city also asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to enjoin the province from taking ownership and possession of the DA premises and that a preliminary injunction be issued to permanently prevent the province from owning lot.
The case will be raffled off tomorrow.
The contested lot which is occupied by informal settlers and several government agencies, including the DA-7, is being claimed by the provincial government which has a ?reconstituted title? to prove its ownership over the parcel of land.
But the city government doubts the authenticity of the lot title and wants the court?s interpretation on the issue.
The city government represented by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña sought a judicial review and the annulment of the province's Transfer Certificate of Title No. 19334.
