The Supreme Court has been weeding its ranks of corrupt officials and employees for years now, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno told reporters as she expressed support for President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s priority of eradicating corruption in the government.
“This path that the Court has been taking started of course when I became Chief Justice,” Sereno said, noting that she made sure that every week there would be cases against members and officials of the judiciary that would be resolved.
“We have been faithful to our mission in that sense, so we welcome that he (Duterte) highlights (the fight against) corruption. But I can assure the public that the judiciary will to its best to rid its ranks of corruption,” she added.
Last month, Duterte said he would send a representative to the Supreme Court to discuss the supposed problems caused by temporary restraining orders (TROs), particularly on government projects.
Duterte said TROs particularly on government projects impeded development.
He believes that only corrupt judges and magistrates benefit from TROs.
Sereno said her office was always open.
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“We are ready to give an introduction or briefing of what we are doing. In fact, my office is always open for any of his trusted people to raise concerns with us and we will already tell them what we are doing in the front of corruption and what we are doing with respect to some concerns of judicial processes,” Sereno said, adding that they had always accommodated other important people who wanted to know what the judiciary was doing.
Sereno also said they wanted evidence of corruption in the judiciary.
READ: Corruption charges vs justices must be backed by evidence, says SC
The high court chief said she had been calling for evidence of corruption in the judiciary since 2012 after allegations that there were members of the judiciary involved in “selling” TROs.
A TRO is a relief granted by the court to stop a certain act while the court resolves questions on the merit of an issue related to such act.
“I assure the public that we will not stop cleansing our ranks. The call that I had made in 2012 is for evidence to be brought to us, and until now, I still want the evidence of corruption because that is something we really need to make example of,” Sereno told reporters.
“So I hope the public is responsive because [they] have a responsive Supreme Court if we get enough basis.” IDL/rga