The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the alleged involvement of 13 judges in the illegal drug trade.
During its summer en banc session in Baguio City, the Court approved the conduct of a fact-finding investigation into the activities of the judges on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s so-called narco-list.
The Court designated Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta to coordinate with PDEA for the list of the names of the alleged narco judges.
“The Supreme Court, like in the past, will and shall not tolerate any illegal or corrupt activities within its ranks,” said Court spokesman Brian Hosaka.
Court insiders observed that the designation of Peralta, who is currently the third most senior member of the 15-member bench, means the Court is taking the issue “very seriously.”
In the same en banc session, the Court compelled the government to submit the Philippine National Police’s records on the 3,800 deaths related to the government’s war on drugs, granting the plea of petitioners in several writ of amparo cases.
The 15-member bench also directed the Office of the Solicitor General to furnish copies of the reports to the petitioners in the Amparo cases represented by human rights groups Center Law and Free Legal Assistance Group.
Center Law filed a petition in 2017 asking the Court to issue a writ of amparo to protect the residents of 26 barangays in San Andres Bukid, Manila City against the government’s war on drugs.
FLAG, on the other hand, filed a petition asking the Court to declare as unconstitutional the PNP’s
“Oplan Double Barrel,” which it said allows the police to “neutralize” suspected drug pushers instead of arresting and prosecuting them.
The Palace on Tuesday confirmed that the government has taken legal action against almost 50 people tagged in the PDEA narco-list.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Department of the Interior and Local Government has started filing administrative cases against 46 people allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.
The filing of the cases come on the heels of calls for PDEA to release the names of 31 celebrities on its list. PDEA chief Aaron Aquino, however, said the names had yet to be validated.
Almost two weeks ago, the President read out loud the names of 43 local officials and three congressmen linked to illegal drugs. The DILG’s list, the President said, was “vetted and validated.”
READ: Justice chief: Nothing illegal in narco-list
He later admitted that the government would not release the other names as they still need to gather enough proof to show their involvement in illegal drugs.
In 2016, the Supreme Court investigated four judges that President Rodrigo Duterte said were involved in the illegal drug trade.
A fact-finding panel led by retired associate justice Roberto Abad cleared three of the judges and recommended an administrative investigation on Antonio Reyes of Baguio City.
The Court cited the findings of the panel that the judge accepted money for dismissal of drug cases based on affidavits of several witnesses and litigants involved in the alleged payoffs.
Reyes had denied the allegations, saying the acquittals were based solely on the evidence.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has also requested the names of 10 prosecutors tagged in the narco list.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he sent an official communication to the PDEA on Monday.
“Once identified and there’s scintilla of evidence, I myself will lead the investigation against them. That [involvement of prosecutors in illegal drug trade] is just unacceptable,” he Guevarra said.
