A SUPREME Court (SC) official declined to provide details regarding the initial report of a committee that is investigating alleged corruption and influence peddling in the judiciary.
SC spokesperson Theodore Te said Tuesday the justices are "still studying" the preliminary report and recommendations drafted by the three-member panel chaired by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.
The committee has looked into media allegations of the existence of a certain "Ma'am Arlene", who was accused of asking favorable rulings for her wealthy clients by throwing parties and showering gifts to the appellate court justices, judges and their relatives.
"Ma'am Arlene" was also said to have influenced the results of the elections for the presidency of the Philippine Judges Association (PJA) in October last year after spending for the accommodation of some 50 judges in a Makati hotel.
Media reports identified "Ma'am Arlene" as Arlene Angeles Lerma, who was captured in a photo attending a party for a retired judge.
[D]etermining the truth is often not achieved by a mad rush based on incomplete pictures, suggestive images or unsubstantiated contexts. It is best achieved by a sober, clear, complete and independent look at the entire context. This is what the committee has committed to do," the panel said last December.
Assisting Leonen in the committee, which collates the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Court of Appeals (CA) and the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), are retired Associate Justices Alicia Austria-Martinez and Romeo Callejo, Jr. (Sunnex)