Supreme Court fires judge, suspends another

The Supreme Court (SC) dismissed a Dagupan City Regional Trial Court judge for ignorance of the law and manifest partiality, and suspended another RTC judge in Valenzuela City for bribery.

Dismissed from the judicial service with forfeiture of all retirement benefits was Judge Deodoro Sison who was found guilty of disregarding laws to rule in favor of a municipal mayoral candidate in Pangasinan.

At the same time, the high tribunal suspended Judge Jaime Bautista who was caught receiving bribe money from a litigant in an entrapment operation of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The SC also fined Daet, Camarines Norte RTC Judge Sancho Dames P10,000 for gross ignorance of the law and Cadiz City Municipal Trial Court Judge Rolando Ramirez P5,000 for the undue delay in resolving a civil case.

The SC handed down its decisions on the administrative charges against the magistrates during their annual summer session in Baguio City.

The decisions were signed by all SC justices except Associate Justice Reynato Puno who is on official business abroad.

In the case of Sison, the Dagupan City RTC judge was found to have deliberately applied "patently inapplicable" and repealed laws to favor San Jacinto mayoral candidate Rolando Costumbres.

The SC found that Sison used Batas Pambansa 222 and an old resolution of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to nullify votes cast for Columbres’ opponent Hilario de Guzman Jr.

Sison also deliberately disregarded provisions of the Omnibus Election Code to nullify ballots for De Guzman.

"Such deliberate disregard by (Sison) of the pertinent provisions of the Omnibus Election Code and his application of BP 222, which is already obsolete, cannot be explained away as an honest mistake of judgment or an innocent error in the exercise of discretion," the SC said in a 21-page ruling.

The SC also noted that Sison had been charged seven times in different cases, three of them dismissed and two still pending.

Sison has also been repeatedly charged with gross ignorance of the law and had been penalized or sanctioned on two occasions, an "unflattering record (that) only erodes further the people’s faith and confidence in the judiciary," the high court added.

In Bautista’s case, the high tribunal issued the suspension order after Bautista was arrested for receiving P5,000 bribe money, the final installment of P10,000 he allegedly demanded from Ranel Paruli, a representative of Sierra Madre Transportation Co. Inc.

The transport firm was facing a damage suit and writ of preliminary attachment filed by two persons against the company, and Bautista allegedly demanded the bribe in exchange for the junking of the suit.

Bautista allegedly received an initial P5,000 from the transport firm on March 16, five days before his arrest, supposedly witnessed by two other people.

Traces of fluorescent powder, which was used to mark the bribe money, were allegedly found on his hands when he was collared by the NBI men inside his courtroom on March 21.

Bautista is now facing direct bribery charges at the Office of the Ombudsman.