Saturday, October 04, 2008 Judge answers ‘poison letter’ source
AN EXECUTIVE judge who is a subject of an unsigned “poison letter” believes that the author is one of the clerks of court.
The letter bore the title “For the Media” and contained accusations against Municipal Trial Courts in Cities (MTCC) Executive Judge Oscar Andrino.
It accused Andrino of implementing rules with “no legal basis” and holding liquor-drinking sessions in his chamber.
MTCC clerks of court and employees denied writing the letter or knowing its author, though they agreed with some of the issues it contained.
Andrino, who rarely grants media interviews, denied the allegations and explained his side yesterday morning.
He denied drinking liquor with a buddy inside his chamber, saying that, except for Christmas celebrations, it was “a long time ago” since he last drank liquor.
The employees of MTCC Branch 5, which Andrino presides over, confirmed that the judge rarely had a companion as he always locked the door while working inside his chamber.
His lone buddy, Andrino said, was his licensed gun, which was the subject of another issue in the anonymous letter.
The letter said that one Friday afternoon, during the flag retreat at the Palace of Justice, Andrino was going down the stairs when his gun fell from his pocket and bounced on the ground.
The gun was reportedly wrapped in newspaper instead of being placed inside a holster. It could have fired, the letter said.
Andrino, however, said that the gun wasn’t loaded that time. He explained that he took the gun with him that afternoon because it was busted. He wrapped it with a newspaper because he was going to have it fixed at a shop.
Otherwise, it always remained in his chamber because he did not have a permit to carry it.
Another accusation in the letter was that of Andrino having bought a multicab through “singka sintos” or verbal intimidation, according to the multicab’s supposed driver.
But Andrino told reporters that he did not own any multicab.
“Tan-awa ninyo didto sa LTO og duna ba ko’y multicab (Go check with Land Transportation Office if I own a multicab),” Andrino said.
For many clerks of court and MTCC employees, yesterday was the first time they heard about the allegations against Andrino.
But they quickly agreed with, and even expanded on, two more issues raised in the letter.
These were on the rules implemented by Andrino that the clerks and employees reportedly found too stiff.
“Basin di nasad kaagwanta (Maybe the letter-sender couldn’t take it anymore),” said an MTCC employee, who refused to be named, when asked about the possible motive of the author.
At the Office of the Clerk of Court (OCC) and in different MTCC salas, employees lamented that Andrino required, at least, a 30-minute interval between the time they punch out for lunch break and the time they punch back in for the afternoon’s work.
But because of overtime or exhaustion over the morning’s workload, they sometimes forget or fail to punch out right away during the 12 noon to 1 p.m. lunch break, employees said.
So if an MTCC employee punches out only at 12:40 p.m., the soonest time he can punch back in is 1:10 p.m., making the worker appear to be late for the afternoon shift, MTCC workers said.
Andrino explained that he only imposed this rule because court employees would often leave the office before lunch break or report back to work at past 1 p.m.
They would be seen in malls or fetching their children from school, and would be unavailable to do tasks, Andrino said. He added that he only wanted work to be done.
He cited that from the 8,000 docketed cases in his court when he began presiding over MTCC 5 eight years ago, only 313 cases were docketed at his sala as of August.
The letter-sender also claimed that while Andrino forbids the wearing of jeans from Monday to Thursday, his branch clerk of court, Josefina Uy, is often seen wearing jeans.
Uy said that she always gave a memo of explanation whenever she wore jeans.
A clerk of court at an MTCC branch, who also refused to be named, seethed over this rule.
While admitting that the wearing of proper uniform is mandated by the Supreme Court (SC), the clerk of court said that most court employees had to make loans in order to buy uniforms when Andrino implemented this rule.
The source called this a form of “injustice” in a place that is “supposedly the last bastion of justice.”
MTCC Judges Rosabella Tormis and Francisco Seville Jr. also got wind of the letter but refused to comment.
According to Andrino, one MTCC judge had called him weeks ago to warn him of talks going around against him.
Andrino added that this may have stemmed from his decision to appoint Uy as officer-in-charge of the OCC finances, instead of appointing the assistant OCC.
However, Andrino said that the SC approved Uy’s appointment last August. The incumbent officer-in-charge MTCC clerk of court, Teresita Remotige, will retire on Oct. 10.
Andrino said that the letter did not surprise him and that he will answer the allegations before the SC. (KAB)
