SUPREME Court Public Information Office chief Brian Keith Hosaka yesterday said that the judiciary has already established its own system in fighting corruption within its ranks.
Hosaka issued the statement after Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that the government may include the judiciary in its campaign against corruption.
“Weeding out misfits in the Judiciary is a priority of Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta and is included in his 10-point program for the Judiciary which he bared a year ago upon his assumption as Chief Justice. This is also why Chief Justice Peralta endeavored to ensure that the Judiciary Integrity Board (JIB) and the Corruption Prevention and Investigation Office (CPIO) are established at the soonest possible time.”
” As for the offer of Secretary Guevarra to assist the Judiciary in its campaign against corruption, the same is very much appreciated. Any assistance for the good of the institution and to protect its integrity should not be shunned, but instead welcomed, “ Hosaka said.
Last July 7, the SC approved the proposed amendments to carry out the implementation of JIB, which will act on complaints against erring justices, judges, officers and employees of the judiciary.
On the other hand, the CPIO will conduct investigation of erring justices of the tertiary courts; and judges and personnel of the lower courts, including the Shari’a Courts; and the officials and employees of the Office of the Jurisconsult, Court Administrator, Deputy Court Administrator, Assistant Court Administrators and their personnel.
