The goddesses of justice once again weep in shame
When Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Jose Sabio Jr. hit the headlines on the Meralco vs. GSIS case, it wasn't the first Pandora's Box rocking the Courts.
Years ago, the highest tribunal was roiled by a case involving two giant telecom networks. The ponente was a very erudite magistrate. But lo, practicing lawyers and the Bench used to his writing style were almost one that the decision had been penned by someone else. Not long after the rhubarb, that eminent SC jurist retired from the service.
A couple of times too, the SC was compromised when Bar exams became tainted. Then there was that infamous impeachment of its chief over irregularities of its JDF spending.
One recalls a rare chat with Atty. Amadeo D. Seno, his former law professor and the greatest Cebuano law practitioner, dealing on his varied experiences and impressions of the law, the courts, and the legal practice. Any law student who had studied under Atty. Matoy Seno can attest to his legal acumen, mastery of the law and legal procedure (both in civil and criminal), and his teaching style, will agree that he was the best there was. The brilliance of 'No Matoy was as a trial lawyer, as well as his teaching genius, except that he had always been short of time.
Anyway, one yet a neophyte to the Bench then, he felt privileged to have had intimate talks with a real legal luminary… One of the revelations that 'No Matoy candidly reminisced concerned the malpractices and unethical ways in the legal practice. He said that it was not only in trial courts where "hoodlums in robes" were found, but more so, in appellate collegial courts. He cited that it was not just pecuniary, but also, special "connections", or "fraternal relations", and "persona" that often counted. He decried that the fate of a given case would sometimes depend on "you owe me one" between the ponente and the "accommodations" with other collegial members.
He even cited the case of a local treasurer's son convicted for homicide through reckless imprudence at the then CFI, and bought his acquittal at the appellate court. And there were some others still that he had enumerated, including a local lawyer "specializing" in appealed cases.
After the CA branched out in
In the trial courts, scams and unethical practices may include rigging of the case raffles, "connections", illegal and overly-expensive marriages including the over-abuse of Section 34 of the Family Code, TRO's allegedly abused, pure indolence and outright inefficiency of certain courts just to name some.
The appointment and promotion system in the judiciary is fraught with too much politics. While there is the Judicial and Bar Council, it's Malacañang who wields political patronage or "connection". Incredibly, it was only in President Marcos' time that there was strict processing of prospective judges when FM designated then Justice Minister Ricardo Puno to initiate the reforms. Minister Puno was so meticulous and fastidious that only those who passed his screening were indorsed for judgeship, except for a few under FM's executive privilege.
Coming back to the Sabio and Francis de Borja conflict on the alleged bribery of P50 M or P10 M, the naked truth doesn't matter anymore. Whether there was or wasn't, is moot and academic. It appears enough that there is smoke, and so, there is fire. It's sickening that even at the CA level, childish name-calling, like "deadma", or such vulgar barbs among justices, in the course of the probe, has aggravated the scandal.
No wonder, goddesses of justice Themis or Dike, and Justitia, respectively, in Greco-Roman mythology, could be now in tears for such shameful tragedy.
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