By Liza Agoot/PNA
PEÑARRUBIA, Abra — Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin on Wednesday urged Abreños, and the public in general, to report erring court employees and officers as he assured that information provided to them will be treated as highly confidential and will be acted upon.
“We will discipline those judges. Do not be afraid to tell us or at least give us leads and we will respond,” Bersamin said in Filipino in his speech, during a testimonial banquet given in his honor by the high school alumnus of St. Joseph Seminary.
The Chief Justice made the call during his visit to his hometown a few days after the SC issued an order preventively suspending two Abra trial judges based on a complaint filed before the judiciary.
He said the complaints may come as anonymous if they are afraid of retaliation.
“I can guarantee you that if it reaches us in the proper way, we can always act. Supposing you do not have documentary evidence to support your claim but your complaint even if filed anonymously could be independently verified, then by all means you can expect the Supreme Court to act,” Bersamin said.
The High Court can order the conduct of an audit of the particular branch or court over alleged anomalies.
“Example you have an information about a judge who has many cases for annulment of marriage, even if you do not have a proof, just lead us and we will order an audit,” Bersamin said.
He said circumstantial evidence can take down a court officer or an employee who has committed a mistake when a direct proof is not available.
“The audit will determine the records of particular cases what happened there and if there were any irregularities, I am sure the record will bear that out,” he added.
He said not only judges can be complained of but also ordinary employees, including lawyers.
“We will transmit it to the proper office of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP),” he said.
The IBP is an organization of lawyers sanctioned by the Supreme Court, as dictated by the Rules of Court.
When Bersamin assumed the post as the 25th Chief Justice on Nov. 28, 2018, he issued his four-point agenda, one of which is cleansing the judiciary of scalawags in robes and misfits that bring down the integrity of the court.
