SC forms task force to probe judges linked to illegal drugs

BAGUIO CITY — The Supreme Court on Tuesday tasked Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta with getting from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) the names and case folders of judges implicated in drug trafficking.

Peralta will coordinate and communicate with the PDEA to “pave the way for a formal fact-finding and administrative investigation” of the judges, said lawyer Brian Hosaka, the court spokesperson.

Hosaka said the tribunal ordered the probe after its full-court session here.

He said the court, which is holding its summer sessions here, had reacted to news reports linking judges to the drug syndicates. The PDEA did not identify the judges.

Celebrities

Most reports also referred to a list of high-level celebrities tied to drugs that was being validated by the PDEA.

Duterte list

Last month, President Duterte released the names of candidates in the May 13 midterm elections who allegedly had connections with illegal drugs, either as coddlers or as drug users or traffickers.

Hosaka said the Supreme Court would not tolerate members of the judiciary who have ties with the illegal drug trade or any “illegal and corrupt activities within its ranks.”

In 2016, the tribunal also formed an investigative team, then headed by retired Associate Justice Roberto Abad, after Mr. Duterte alleged that four judges based in Surigao, Aklan and Baguio City were involved in illegal drugs.

The President also linked three other judges, including one who had retired, to drugs.