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Resignation of justices may not be enough to restore CA’s integrity
By Francis Allan L. Angelo
THE resignation of Court of Appeals justices involved in the alleged bribery scam might not be enough to save the court’s tarnished image, according to the president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Iloilo chapter.
In an interview with TDG on Air over Aksyon Radyo-Iloilo, Atty. Virgilio Teruel said it would take a lot of vigilance from lawyers and the public to cleanse the CA’s image.
Teruel said the SC’s disciplinary action of erring CA justices and calls for their resignation because of the bribery issue relative to the Meralco ownership case are just part of moves to reform the appellate court.
“What we need is more vigilance on the part of our people and the lawyers to look after the conduct of the judiciary. This would be hard for us because we interact with judges and justices. But this is a sacrifice we are willing to do to save the judiciary,” Teruel said.
Atty. Dennis Ventilacion, legal counsel of The Daily Guardian who was with Teruel on the same radio talk show, said the public should not only keep an eye on judges and justices but also on lawyers who try to bribe magistrates.
“It takes two to tango. There won’t be bribe takers if there are no bribers,” Ventilacion said.
The SC earlier dismissed CA Associate Justice Vicente Roxas and suspended Associate Justice Jose Sabio Jr. for violating the Code of Judicial Conduct.
The high tribunal reprimanded CA Presiding Justice Conrado Vasquez for his failed leadership in handling the bribery case.
The SC also admonished Justice Myrna Dimaranan-Vidal for allowing herself to be rushed by Justice Roxas to sign the July 8, 2008 decision granting Meralco’s request for a temporary restraining order, which allowed the election of a new board and the Lopez family to maintain control of Meralco.
As for CA Justice Bienvenido Reyes, the SC found him guilty of simple misconduct. He was reprimanded and given a stern warning.
Teruel earlier said their group was dismayed with the outcome of the SC investigation on the CA bribery scandal which eroded the integrity and professionalism of the country’s second highest court.
Calls for the resignation of CA justices surfaced after the SC meted the penalties on the four magistrates.
Teruel said there are debates within the legal circle whether the SC was able to prove the alleged bribery. Another focus of the ongoing debates is whether the sanctions were commensurate to the offenses committed by the CA justices.
For one, other lawyers are questioning why it was only Roxas who was dismissed while Sabio was only suspended when both were accused of receiving bribes.
Teruel said Sabio’s may have been mitigated after he blew the whistle on the scandal.
As regards the alleged bribe, Ventilacion said the issue has been circulating in the legal circle “but it is only now that it was openly discussed and addressed by the Supreme Court.”
“But the CA bribery issue remains a rumor since the SC only tackled violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct,” Ventilacion.
Teruel said IBP-Iloilo will issue a collective statement on the CA issues within this week including their recommendations on how to mend the judiciary’s image.
By Francis Allan L. Angelo
A COOL P60,000 will go to any informant who could lead the police to the suspect in the robbery and murder of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s aunt in Jaro, Iloilo City last month.
Senior Inspector Harry Decena, Jaro police chief, said the family of the late Adelina Palma-Bermejo offered the cash reward to speed up the arrest of the suspect.
Bermejo, 73, was found sprawled inside her house at Kahirup Village, Brgy. Cubay, Jaro August 28.
Bermejo, according to the autopsy report, died of four stab wounds in her body.
Decena said they have identified the suspect whose first name is Robert. He said they are now eyeing a place where Robert is believed to be hiding.
Decena said the suspect may have been wounded during a scuffle with the victim.
Robert is believed to be the former househelp of a sister of Bermejo.
The caretaker of Kahirup village claimed that the suspect even talked to him before knocking on Bermejo’s gate.
By Francis Allan L. Angelo
SUSPECTED members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) blasted a cellsite of Globe Telecommunications in Maayon, Capiz past 9pm Sunday.
Capiz police provincial director Josephus Angan said the bombing happened 9:30pm the other day at Brgy. Manayupit, Maayon. No one was reported injured in the explosion.
Angan said members of the 604th PNP Mobile Group has just finished patrolling Manayupit and neighboring barangays when the cellsite was bombed.
Angan said the NPA tried to blast the cellsite August 29 but the bomb went dud.
Combined members of the 604th Mobile Group and the Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion continue to chase the rebels in the mountains of Capiz.
The attack in Capiz is the latest in the series of assaults being blamed on the NPA.
In Negros Occidental, the rebels were fingered for raiding a resort, a mining site and sugarcane plantations.
According to a Philippine Army report, the rebels allegedly destroyed more than P93 million worth of properties in just 10 years.
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