Retired judge sued in Cebu lawyer’s slay

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has charged with gross misconduct a retired appellate judge for allegedly orchestrating the murder of a lawyer in Cebu City in November 2020.

Retired Court of Appeals Associate Justice Isaias Dicdican is facing charges after being named as one of the masterminds behind the killing of Joey Luis Wee.

Administrative charges were initiated by the high court since Dicdican, who retired in 2015, is still a member of the Bar, SC spokesperson Camille Ting explained.

A separate criminal case has been endorsed by the National Bureau of Investigation to the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office and Office of the Prosecutor General, she noted.

“The ultimate penalty will be disbarment. Another possible penalty is he won’t receive his pension anymore if he is found guilty,” Ting said.

Dicdican has been given 10 days to answer the charges.

Gunman Fausto Edgar Peralta – who confessed to killing Wee – had implicated four other suspects in the lawyer’s killing.

One of the suspects, retired Col. Edwin Layese, had named Dicdican and a certain Miss Riza as masterminds who paid P1.5 million to have Wee killed.

Layese said Riza wanted to kill the lawyer after she lost a case to Wee’s clients.

Riza allegedly wanted Wee’s wife to also be killed, but Layese said he ordered the gunmen to spare her since they have children.

Layese also claimed that Dicdican had asked him to find a hitman to kill another lawyer, James Gupana, over a case in October 2020.

Gupana survived the attack.