THE SUPREME Court has ordered the judges in charge of cases involving the Sept. 2, 2016 bombing in Davao City to comment on the petition of the local government to transfer the trials to Taguig City in Metro Manila. During the City Peace and Order Council meeting on Wednesday, City Prosecutor Nestor M. Ledesma said the Office of the Court Administrator has ordered Regional Trial Court Judges Lope L. Callo of Branch 33 and Evalyn A. Morales of Branch 17 to respond to the transfer petition, which has been endorsed by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. Mr. Ledesma quoted Ms. Morales as saying that she supports the transfer “in the interest of justice and safety of all the persons concerned.” The other judge, Mr. Callo, has yet to comment on the matter as he has asked the lawyers of those charged to first file a comment on the petition. The suspects’ lawyers have previously manifested in open court that they did not want the trial to be transferred. Mr. Callo is handling the murder aspect of the cases while Ms. Morales is handling the terrorism charges. Of the 14 arrested, only five were charged, three of them became state witnesses while the others were freed. The Sept. 2 bombing at a busy night market left 14 people dead and more than 60 injured. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

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