21 judges bear the brunt of latest judiciary cleansing

Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin. INQUIRER.net file photo / NOY MORCOSO

MANILA, Philippines–From January to June, the Supreme Court has suspended, reprimanded or admonished 21 judges, Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin said Wednesday.

Aside from the judges, data from the Office of the Court Administrator also showed that 94 lower court employees have also been admonished, fined, reprimanded or had their benefits suspended.

Bersamin said excluded from the data are judges that have been preventively suspended while facing investigation.

A separate statistic from the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) showed that 83 lawyers have been sanctioned through disbarment, suspension from practice of law, suspension from notarial practice or both, fined, reprimanded and admonished.

“We found these actions that we did were essential to obtaining confidence of the public in the Judiciary,” said Bersamin. /jpv