Midas Marquez told: Don’t hide behind Charter

Supreme Court spokesperson and Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Party-list House member Walden Bello (Akbayan) said Supreme Court administrator and spokesperson Midas Marquez should not hide behind the Constitution to avoid being probed by the Ombudsman.

Bello accused Marquez of indulging in “double speak” when he declared that he was willing to face an investigation by the Ombudsman while insisting that the high court has sole administrative supervision over all courts and  personnel under the Constitution.

Not a game

“This is not a game of the Supreme Court against the Office of the Ombudsman. This is a case of ensuring that officials act according to their prescribed duties and limits in the service of the people, and Marquez crossed that line. This is why Marquez should answer to the public,” he said in a statement.

Bello has filed a complaint with the Ombudsman charging Marquez with alleged misuse of the Supreme Court’s Judicial Reform Support Project

(JRSP) funds obtained from the World Bank, and of allegedly abusing his office by lawyering for impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“Based on reports sourced from the World Bank, Mr. Marquez’s designation as court administrator, head of the Public Information Office and chairman of the Bids and Awards Committee led to a ‘breakdown in internal controls,’” he said.