Supreme Court to probe judges on narcolist

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has tasked one of its Associate Justices to coordinate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for the list of judges allegedly linked to illegal drugs.

During its summer session in Baguio City, the High Court has designated Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta to directly communicate with PDEA.

“The Supreme Court en banc has tasked and has authorized Associate Justice Diosdado M. Peralta to coordinate and communicate directly with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for the list of judges allegedly linked to the illegal drug trade,”  SC information chief and spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka said at a press conference.

Hosaka said the request will pave the way for a formal fact-finding and administrative investigation to determine possible liability of the judges.

“The Supreme Court, like in the past, will and shall not tolerate any illegal or corrupt activities within its ranks,” he said.

In 2016, the SC designated retired Associate Justice Roberto Abad to lead the fact-finding probe on four judges- Exequil Dagala of Dapa-Socorro in Surigao, Adriano Savillo of Iloilo City, Domingo Casiple of Aklan and Antonio Reyes of Baguio City-linked by President Duterte to the drug trade.

But after the fact-finding probe, the High Court cleared three of the judges while it ordered an administrative investigation on Reyes.

The Abad panel citing the affidavits of witnesses and litigants said Reyes accepted money to dismiss several drug cases handled by his sala, but the latter denied the accusations.

He said the cases were dismissed due to lack of evidence against the respondents.

Last week, PDEA revealed that there are 13 judges on the narcolist. /gsg

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