SC dismisses Baguio judge for declaring seized 'Golden Buddha' fake

MANILA, Philippines -  The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed for gross ignorance of the law the Baguio City judge who ruled that the “Golden Buddha” seized during the Marcos years was fake.

In a decision, the SC ordered the dismissal from the judiciary of Judge Fernando Vil Pamintuan of Baguio City Regional Trial Court Branch 3 after former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos filed the complaint.

Marcos filed the complaint after Pamintuan reversed motu proprio (on his own initiative) the final and executory decision dated May 30, 1997 of then acting Presiding Judge Antonio Reyes, which ordered the immediate release of the Golden Buddha statue from the RTC’s custody to the children of the late Rogelio Roxas who discovered the supposed treasure.

“The Court finds Judge Pamintuan accountable for gross ignorance of the law. He could have simply been suspended and fined, but the Court cannot take his previous infractions lightly. His violations are serious in character. Having been previously warned and punished for various infractions, Judge Pamintuan now deserves the ultimate administrative penalty — dismissal from service,” the Court said.

The SC said it could not allow the judge’s failure to consider the basic legal principle that when a judgment is final and executory, it becomes immutable and unalterable.

It ruled that Pamintuan made a serious error in making pronouncements that the Buddha in the court’s custody was a fake or mere replica, saying he “should have realized that the trial court did not rule on that point in its May 30, 1997 order.”