Baseless accusations

Dear Mr. Bondoc,

I have read today your article appearing in the online version of the Philippine STAR (www.philstar.com) entitled “Will SC investigate its Chief Justice?” which also appeared in page 15 of today’s issue of the Philippine STAR. In the said article, you raise the question of whether or not the Ethics Committee of the Supreme Court will investigate its Chief Justice in view of the complaint filed by Atty. Fernando Campos accusing Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona of “undue haste, impropriety and irregularity”.

At the outset, we wish to inform you that the facts narrated in your article are wrong. For the record, PAGCOR had never given Campos’ company, IPRC, a license to do online cockfighting and betting. Also for the record, PhilWeb was never given any license from PAGCOR to do online cockfighting and betting. For your further information, we enclose a letter dated February 8, 2010 from our legal counsel addressed to the Judicial and Bar Council narrating the correct facts and refuting point by point Campos’ baseless accusations against PhilWeb and the Chief Justice. It is our hope that the letter will help you understand the reasons why the Supreme Court correctly denied Campos’ petition against PhilWeb.

We also hope that the enclosed letter will convince you that an investigation by the Ethics Committee of Campos’ complaint will only waste the Supreme Court’s precious time and resources, as the allegations against PhilWeb and the Chief Justice are totally without merit. Indeed, with the public clamoring for a speedier disposition of cases before the Supreme Court, the Justices will find better use of their time than to look into issues that they had already passed upon and found to have no merit at all.