Lifestyle check on judges urged

Trial court judges facing complaints for questionable decisions on electoral protest cases should also be subjected to a lifestyle check, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said yesterday.

In the weekly radio program "Para sa Iyo Bayan" of Vice President Noli de Castro, Macalintal said the lifestyle check on government officials and employees and presidential appointees should also be conducted on judges if a complaint against them is found to have basis.

Judges with a clean conscience should not mind the lifestyle check, he said.

Macalintal and three other election lawyers – Sixto Brillantes Jr., Leila de Lima and Pete Cuadra – were chosen by Chief Justice Reynato Puno as members of a sub-committee tasked to study and formulate rules and regulations governing election protests that will be heard and decided by the regional trial courts (RTCs).

The Philippine Judges Association (PJA) has welcomed the proposal of the election lawyers to probe erring judges in electoral protest cases in order to clear the names of judges who are not on the take.

Earlier this week, the four lawyers denounced what they said was corruption in many trial courts handling electoral protests.

They disclosed that many judges were guilty of issuing irregular decisions, with a tendency to unseat elected officials whose proclamations were contested by their political rivals.

The possible inclusion of trial court judges in the lifestyle check was proposed following more calls to investigate judges who might have issued dubious decisions in electoral protest cases.

The lawyers earlier proposed the creation of a separate court to handle election-related cases.

PJA president Guillermo Agloro earlier said the association is supporting the creation of a sub-committee that will formulate new rules on the resolution of poll protests.

He said lawyers should also understand the plight of judges who need to decide on other important cases on top of controversial election-related cases over a six-month period.

Macalintal said most of the judges have no experience in handling electoral protests and they often have different interpretations of the law. Thus, they have agreed to push for reforms in the electoral process through the sub-committee formed by Puno.

Puno directed them to submit their recommendations in two weeks. "He wants it completed before the May 14 elections," Macalintal said.

Macalintal said, however, that the rules and regulations governing electoral protest cases should not be used to harass or taint the reputation of people and the government.

"We are banding together for the first time. This is our moral obligation. It’s a big challenge for us," Macalintal said.

At least 16 judges might have issued dubious decisions in the 2004 polls, the lawyers said.

However, De Lima had said that they still have to review the cases they handled in the 2004 polls, though she said she herself is mulling the filing of charges against the judges with the consent of her clients.