Suspension of judge, clerk in bribery case extended

Inquirer photo/Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has extended the preventive suspension of a Pasay court judge and clerk of court after both were accused of accepting a bribe of P6 million.

In a statement on Tuesday, the high tribunal said it adopted the recommendation of the Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) to extend the preventive suspension of Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 108 Judge Albert Cansino and officer in charge or acting branch clerk of court Mariejoy Lagman while the investigation into the allegations against them was pending.

In a resolution issued in May, the Supreme Court en banc started administrative proceedings against Cansino and Lagman for allegedly accepting P6 million from a litigant in exchange for a favorable judgment in a civil case. They were placed under a 90-day preventive suspension.

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This was after an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation resulted in the arrest of Lagman, prompting Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo on May 24 to order Court Administrator Raul Villanueva to submit a report on the incident.

Anonymous tip

Villanueva said the NBI operation was based on an anonymous complaint the JIB received in an email.

After verifying the information, the NBI initiated the entrapment operation, where five marked P1,000 bills and about P6 million were used as “boodle money.”

Cansino and Lagman were also indicted for direct bribery under Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code, violation of the Anti-Graft Law, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards in a separate criminal case.