With last week’s SC ruling reversing a Court of Appeals (CA) decision and affirming a lower court’s ruling, a motion for reconsideration is now pending.

Docketed as G.R. No. 182310, respondents in the case are brothers Jan Michael and Archie Tan, charged on the grisly killings of their father, Francisco "Bobby" Tan, stepmother Cindy Zayco and half-sister, six year old Katherine.

The incident occurred at the family mansion in Molo district, Iloilo City in January of 2006. Since then, the case dragged with the rest of the Zayco-Tan siblings now in the custody of the maternal relatives.

The SC Second Division in a recent ruling affirmed the decision of the Regional Trial Court finding probable cause against the Tan brothers.

Arrest warrants were then issued yet counsel for the duo managed to seek a CA order that dismissed the criminal cases and set aside the RTC arrest warrants.

The SC after a thorough review decided not to subscribe to the CA’s position.

"What is important is that there is some rational basis for going ahead with judicial inquiry into the case. This Court does not subscribe to the CA’s position that the prosecution had nothing to go on with. Wherefore, the Court REVERSES and SETS ASIDE the Court of Appeal’s Decision dated December 19, 2007 and resolution dated March 25, 2008 and AFFIRMS and REINSTATES the Regional Trial Court’s order dated April 23, 2007," said the SC ruling penned by Associate Justice Roberto Abad.News Express (NE) in a follow-up learned from lawyer Joviel Edama that a motion was filed for the issuance of arrest warrants. Tan’s counsels though managed to file a timely motion for reconsideration on the SC ruling.

Pending resolution of the motion for reconsideration, any issuances of arrest warrants are expected to be on hold.