4 Cebu judges in marriage racket dismissed by SC

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed four Cebu City judges and several Court administrative personnel charged of involvement in civil marriage solemnization rackets and irregularities.

Ordered dismissed from the service for “gross efficiency or neglect of duty and of gross ignorance of law” were presiding judges Anatalio Necessario and Gil Acosta, Rosabella Tormis and Edgemelo Rosales of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branches 2, 3, 4 and 8 in Cebu City.

The judges’ retirement benefits were forfeited and they were barred from reinstatement or appointment to any public office, including corporations owned or controlled by the government.

The administrative cases against the judges and several court personnel stemmed from the Office of the Court Administrator’s uncovering of irregularities in the solemnization of marriages in local courts in Cebu wherein certain “package fees” were offered to interested parties by “fixers” or “facilitators” for instant marriages.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the judges violated judicial ethics which exact competence, integrity and probity in the performance of their duties. The justices said “ignorance of the law is a mark of incompetence, and where the law involved is elementary, ignorance thereof is considered as an indication of lack of integrity.”

“[T]he administration of justice is considered a sacred task and upon assumption to office, a judge ceases to be an ordinary mortal. He or she becomes the visible representation of the law and more importantly of justice. The actuation of these judges are not only condemnable, it is outright shameful,” the Court said.

Aside from the judges, the Supreme Court also dismissed court interpreter Helen Mongaya and administrative officer Rhona Rodriguez for their involvement in the racket. Process server Desiderio Aranas and court interpreter Rebecca Alesna were suspended for six months while clerk Celeste Retuya and stenographer Emma Valencia were admonished.

Disbarment

The Court also ordered the initiation of disbarment proceedings against Tormis after one of her staff members claimed she ordered marriage records brought to her home after learning about the audit.

Tormis was dismissed by the Court last month following a separate administrative case regarding undue delays in resolving cases, court mismanagement, and two other offenses.

The marriage racket was uncovered when by an audit team sent by the OCA to the Cebu City Palace of Justice. A female and male lawyer of the team went undercover as a couple looking to get married.

In one branch, the couple were told that for P3,000, they could get married the next day but their marriage certificate would only be dated the day the marriage license becomes available. Under the Family Code, marriages conducted without licenses are void from the start.

Anomalies

The team’s investigation of about 2,000 marriages conducted by the judges from 2005 to 2007 showed various anomalies.

Court personnel were found to be helping couples in their documentary requirements in exchange for fees. In some cases, those with no marriage licenses would be asked to produce a joint affidavit of cohabitation to be notarized by the judge for another sum of money.

One judge married a couple who only had birth certificates. Other couples were allowed to get married even if they failed to present certificates of attendance in the family planning seminar conducted by the local health office. Some foreign spouses were wed even if they had invalid documents issued by their embassies.