On speech about alleged corruption in judiciary: I was not referring to Society for Judicial Excellence - Paredes

Regional Trial Court Judge Meinrado Paredes had denied having alluded to the Society for Judicial Excellence when he said in a speech that while awards and plaques of appreciation would boost the image of awardees, the same would also mislead the public.

In a letter to the Society for Judicial Excellence, Paredes described as "slanted" the letter of RTC Executive Judge Fortunato de Gracia, which recommended immediate intervention to quantify Paredes'' statement and the latter''s purported admission of the existence of corruption in the judiciary.

"The Society for Judicial Excellence was not alluded to in that part of my speech. I am referring to awards and plaques of appreciation given by dubious NGO''s, consumer''s groups, concerned citizens, etc. who asked you to pay for their choice hotels, souvenir programs, etc. I received several letters from these dubious groups but I did not dignify them with my answer," Paredes said.

Paredes made the statement as keynote speaker in a gathering the other week wherein the Legal Alternatives for Women Center unveiled its recent survey result, which said that the trial courts in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu are no longer credible because of alleged corruption.

But while he said he did not refer to the society, Paredes also quoted in his letter a portion of his speech, which mentioned his turning down of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines'' endorsement to be among the society''s awardees for 2007.

"I politely turned down the nomination but thanked the IBP Cebu Chapter for the endorsement. I no longer find the society credible," the quotation reads.

In his letter, Paredes asked if he is not entitled to his opinion even if De Gracia does not agree with him.

"At this point I will not discuss the main reason why I said that the Society lacked credibility. It may prove embarrassing or humiliating to one of the awardees," Paredes said.

"As I stated in my talk before the Law Inc. and my reply letter to the Society, I would rather have a thorough profile taking of judges on the basis of integrity, honesty, decorum and competence to be conducted by the IBP. The lawyers are in the best position to judge what kind of judges we are," Paredes added.

In his letter to Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, chairperson of the Society for Judicial Excellence, De Gracia said the intervention is necessary to uphold the integrity of the award, which is being placed on the line "because of the frank and bare-knuckled assault."

"I was besieged by several calls from enrolled members of the Society for Judicial Excellence, expressing disgust at the brazen and public denigration of the award as ''badges and plaques, when undeserved, mislead the public'' and the Society suffers from lack of credibility," the letter reads.

The survey, conducted by LAW Inc. and the University of Cebu College of Law, showed that 68 percent of the respondents preferred to settle their cases by bribing the aggrieved party. Aside from his letter to the society, De Gracia also asked the Office of the Court Administrator to look into the result of survey. - Joeberth M. Ocao/QSB