The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that fact-investigation on the three of the four judges named by President Rodrigo Duterte as involved in the illegal drugs trade in the country has been concluded.
””The court hereby declares that no evidence has been put forward to link Judges Exequil Dagala (of the MTC in Dapa-Socorro in Siargao Island, Surigao); Adriano Savillo, (RTC, Branch 30, Iloilo City); Domingo Casiple (RTC, Branch 7, Kalibo, Aklan), to any involvement in the use, trade or proliferation of illegal drugs and hereby this fact-finding investigation against them is hereby terminated,” SC Spokesperson Theodore Te said as he read the decision during the press conference on Wednesday.
Te said that SC has tapped retired Associate Justice Roberto Abad to head the probe against four of the three judges.
According to Te, Abad is still waiting for a reply from the police and PDEA on his query about Baguio City Benguet RTC Judge Antonio Reyes.
“We affirm our commitment not to shirk from our responsibility of imposing disciplinary action upon any erring judicial officer or personnel. Yet, we must also be steadfast in our undertaking to not be the instrument that destroys the reputation of any member of the bench by pronouncing guilt based merely on speculation,” said Te.
He said the premature disclosure of the names of the judges have put their lives in danger and damaged their reputation.
“The Court also noted that the judges had been placed in danger and that their reputations had been damaged by the premature announcement of their alleged involvement in the drug trade which the investigation had revealed as unwarranted,” the high court said.
The high court affirmed Abad’s recommendation.
“Acting on his Report, the Court found that no prima facie case has been established against the said judges. It was constrained to terminate the investigation considering that despite repeated pleas, the PDEA insisted that no witness is willing to come forward and that it has exhausted the documentary evidence it can submit,” the high court said.
The high court said despite the response from the authorities, extraordinary steps were taken to obtain evidence “because of the grave public import of the President’s comment.”
Abad has managed to acquire financial and commercial documents about the judges. However, there was no other evidence to confirm or corroborate other material points.
“The public announcement regarding the involvement of the judges concerned made by the President was, at the very least, premature. It appears that it was not fully supported by evidence that were professionally validated and which could be presented in a court of law,” said Justice Marvic Leonen in his concurring opinion.
Earlier, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said even without formal complaints, they have also initiated motu proprio (on their own) investigation.
“In addition to undertaking motu proprio investigations, I will be proposing more proactive and preventive measures against corruption,” Sereno added.
Last August 7, President Duterte included seven judges involved in his drug list.
Of the seven, only four were still with the judiciary since one of them was already dead, one was dismissed while the other one has retired. (PNA)
