(First of three parts)

Every Christmas season, a controversial taipan plays Santa to a number of justices in the Court of Appeals. With the help of two retired CA justices, he would distribute gift checks to the magistrates who would graciously accept the harmless offering. Or so it seems.

It would have been a simple act of generosity were it not for the fact that the taipan has a string of pending cases in various courts. He knows how to cultivate goodwill to ensure that his business thrives.

During Christmas parties, some justices solicit appliances, like refrigerators, for prizes or recycle gifts from patrons. Others donate cash to be raffled off.

In send-off ceremonies for outgoing justices, roasted calves and lechon are reportedly donated by grateful lawyers and litigants, sent to the offices at the Court of Appeals.

One justice held his retirement ceremony at a hotel, invited colleagues for a night’s stay so they could play golf to cap the event the next day. A “sponsor” shouldered the expense.

This culture, where ethical conduct required of justices is eroded by conflict-of-interest situations, is embedded in the corridors of justice. It has become an acceptable way of life “that is now woven into their culture,” says a long-time court observer.

‘Something good will come out of it’

Abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak talked with four retired CA justices, two active CA justices and two retired Supreme Court justices for this three-part special report. They shared their observations and experiences while in the judiciary.

Based on our interviews, we found out that the observance of judicial ethics, at least in the appellate court, is fragile and uneven. Several justices have little regard for the institution and its rigorous demands on ethical behavior.

Thus, when the bribery scandal broke out and a public hearing by the Supreme Court unearthed a can of worms, it did not provoke a howl of protest from the CA. In fact, some CA justices—who have chosen to follow the straight but narrow road—were more pleased than bothered that it came out in the open.

“We all feel sad but we are buoyed by the fact that something good will come out of it,” says a CA justice.

They also point out that the predicament afflicting the court, of the benched stacked with judges and justices with questionable ethical values, could be traced to the screening and recommendatory body, the Judicial and Bar Council. Its function has been politicized, encouraging appointments based on connections rather than merit.

Rumors in CA

In the alleged bribery scandal triggered by the tug-of-war between two justices on which CA division has jurisdiction over the corporate dispute between power distributor Manila Electric Co. and the Government Service Insurance System, Associate Justice Jose Sabio found himself the accuser and the accused.

In his affidavit, Sabio said he was unceremoniously kicked out of the special division handling the Meralco corporate war because of the high stakes involved.

He revealed that he was offered by a businessman-friend P10 million to give way to a more accommodating justice who would favor the Lopezes. But surfacing to rebut Sabio, Francis Roa de Borja, a self-confessed broker who had sought Sabio’s help before in settling a land dispute, said it was Sabio who quoted P50 million to resist government pressure.

The ruling, which favored the Lopezes, was penned by Associate Justice Vicente Roxas.

Roxas denied getting any monetary consideration but he flouted not only the internal rules in the CA but also professional courtesy. He personally delivered drafts and rulings on the Meralco case to the justices, eased out one justice from participating in the case without her knowledge, and personally made sure that justices had affixed their signatures to the ruling.

Like Sabio who was insistent on holding on to the case, Roxas ignored advice to inhibit himself.

To be sure, the Meralco scandal is not the first time that tainted money had supposedly tilted the scales of justice in the CA. Rumors of impropriety, of some justices on the take, have been making the rounds of the CA corridors, says one CA justice, despite some punitive action on some CA members and corrective actions taken by the SC.

The justice, who refused to be named for personal reasons, says “such gossip occasionally circulates but is never openly discussed.”

Where’s the evidence?

Lack of proof was what cleared dismissed Justice Elvi John Asuncion. He allegedly accepted a bribe that was supposedly delivered to his chamber in 2001. Asuncion however was found guilty of gross ignorance of the law for violating an SC rule on extending temporary restraining orders.

As members of the judiciary, “we were trained to treat loose talk only as gossip for lack of evidence,” the justice adds.

Proof was also the missing vital element in the allegations last year that 12 CA justices, dubbed the “dirty dozen,” were involved in alleged indiscriminate issuances of TROs. The Tribunal, however, in a sign that it took the allegations seriously, has since ordered the CA to submit a monthly report of TRO issuances. The CA up to now has been religiously submitting a report on TRO issuances to the SC.

The undertones of corruption in the corridors of justice were virtually confirmed by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, when in a paid newspaper ad, called for the resignation of the justices involved in the CA bribery scandal.

“The expose on improper influences on magistrates has been described as an anomaly that was not new and has been known to exist for a long time, but has only been talked about in whispers in the corridors of justice,” the IBP statement on corruption in the CA, said.

Lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre, counsel for Justice Bienvenido Reyes, says that “more and more justices in the CA” can now be bribed. In the Meralco scandal, Aguirre said Sabio wanted to be the whistle blower but noted the act fell flat on his face.

Aguirre however qualifies that the worsening corruption in the judiciary is abetted by corrupt practices of legal practitioners. “We really could not deny it, that there are practitioners who bribe judges and justices.” He is consoled by the fact that “there are still many good and straight members of the bench.” (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

TOMORROW: Practices in past CA, demands of the present

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