Cuevas shrugs off conflict of interest raps

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas on Thursday shrugged off suggestions on social network sites that he quit as lead counsel of Chief Justice Renato Corona because he is receiving a monthly government pension.

Cuevas, 83, said this was not the first time that the issue had been raised, noting that this also came up when he served as lead counsel for President Joseph Estrada during his plunder trial in the Sandiganbayan after his ouster in  2001.

“This issue had long been resolved during the Estrada trial when the government tried to disqualify me,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“I refer them to RA (Republic Act No.) 910. It says that (retired justices) cannot appear only in a case where the accused is charged with a criminal offense. Is this (impeachment) a criminal case?” Cuevas said.

He said the law also prohibited retired judges and justices from appearing as defense lawyer for an accused in a civil case filed by the government.

“The prohibition is not absolute. But if (some individuals) still insist, I may agree to a temporary suspension of my pension,” Cuevas said.