EDITORIAL
When a citizen becomes a victim of financial and other scams, crime and corrupt government officers, where does he or she go? He goes to the courts, hopeful that he would be able to find fairness and justice there.
But what if the courts, or the whole judicial system, is also riddled with holes of corruption. Oftentimes, people go to the media to solicit support. They try their luck, praying that some journalists or broadcasters would find the time and the inclination to listen to their plight. Even then, the media is just a part of the whole system of seeking redress for grievances, and is even in the private sector. The most that a concerned media would do is to refer the matter to the police, the prosecutor’s office, and the courts—in which case we are just dancing around in circles.
It deserves notice, therefore, that the Supreme Court, which has jurisdiction over all the courts, is mindful of this problem and is always ready to find solutions.
The High Court has ordered the creation of a “specific channel” where the public can send “actionable information” against justices, judges and court personnel who violate corruption laws and ethics rules.
The High Court’s Memorandum Order No. 72-2024 encourages citizens to send information to the web page integrity@judiciary.gov.ph involving judges and court personnel involved in extortion and those who solicit gifts or favors from litigants or counsels of any party in exchange for either positive or negative result in their court cases.
The specific violations include extortion of money, gift or favor from any litigant or counsel of any party in exchange for any result; extortion of money, gift or favor from any litigant or counsel for the service of any process including warrants, summons, writs of execution; extortion of money, gift or favor from any litigant or counsel for any activity of judges, justices, or court personnel; extortion of money, gift or favor to gain inside information on the progress of any case, including the name of the ponente in any appellate court, including the Supreme Court; and names and activities of any influence peddler who claims influence in any court.
The SC said the reports “may be used as basis for entrapment operations (so) premature posting on social media may undermine efforts to investigate and prosecute violators.”
It also warned lawyers who participate, advise, or tolerate any form of corruption that the SC will deal with these acts severely.
The SC said all information sent to integrity@judicial.gov.ph will be accessible to the SC Ethics Committee, which is chaired by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, with Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen as working vice chairperson.
It said the public may also submit confidential complaints directly to the Chief Justice or any SC justice.
“Whistleblowers with credible information will be given the proper protection by the Court. The creation of the ‘specific channel’ is part of the High Court’s efforts to cleanse all forms of corruption in the judiciary,” it said.
This new tack which is initiated by the Supreme Court will lessen the incidents of overbearing judges who use the power of the bench to intimidate litigants or worse, fleece them of their money with the promise of a favorable decision. Several judges and clerks of court are now being investigated for this kind of graft, which is truly embarrassing for the judiciary considering that its members should be the ones to dispense justice to the citizens.
We recognize that it is hard administrative work for the High Tribunal to keep all personnel of the judicial branch in check, considering the mountain of cases that they have to study and process, but this just had to be done to restore the trust and confidence of the public in our judicial system.