SC orders probe of ‘Arlene’ judges

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered an investigation of four regional trial court (RTC) judges implicated in the controversy involving the alleged fixing and influence peddling in the judiciary by a certain “Ma’am Arlene.”

In a resolution released yesterday, the high court directed the Court of Appeals (CA) to investigate the judges who were found to have violated laws and rules in the controversial election of officers of the Philippine Judges Association (PJA), based on the recommendation of an ad hoc committee chaired by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.

The SC said Judges Rommel Baybay of Makati City RTC Branch 132; Ralph Lee, Quezon City RTC Branch 83; Marino Rubia of Biñan, Laguna RTC Branch 24 and Lyliha Aquino of Manila RTC Branch 24 will be investigated individually.

“The CA presiding justice is directed to raffle the investigation for each judge among the associate justices,” read the three-page order signed by SC clerk of court Enriqueta Vidal.

The investigating CA justices are given 90 days from raffle to conclude the probe and submit their reports to the SC.

“Upon raffle, the Clerk of Court of the SC is ordered to furnish the investigating judges confidential copies of the attached summary of preliminary findings of the investigating committee pertaining to the judges. The investigation shall be conducted with utmost confidentiality and the report and recommendation shall be directly submitted to the Clerk of Court of the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope,” the resolution pointed out.

In its report in May, the panel led by Leonen pointed to Arlene Lerma, a former employee at the Manila City Hall, as the supposed Ma’am Arlene, said to be the counterpart of suspected pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles in the judiciary.

The high court had initially traced the source of the reports to a supposed “smear campaign” in the electoral contest at the PJA, whose officers had denied involvement in the controversy.

Apart from the investigation, the SC also ordered the suspension of its recognition of Lee and Aquino as elected officers of the PJA “until such time that this court will issue a resolution revoking the suspension.”

Changes in the leadership of the PJA, meanwhile, were withheld pending dialogue among its remaining officers and the SC through Leonen.

The SC likewise ordered Aquino to return to her previous station as judge of Tuguegarao, Cagayan RTC Branch 4.