SCROLLING down: Former Cebu RTC Judge Geraldine Faith Econg was one of two justices who dissented to the majority decision of the five-member panel upholding charges against Representative Gwen Garcia. She and another AJ were brought into Division 2 to break the impasse... A look into some of the controversies Econg was involved in.
First, people are talking about...
... NANCY BINAY'S AD on TV, clearly to boost her reelection bid for the Senate. It started being aired last November 18. Distinctive features: she is not seen, only her voice is heard, because. In a self-deprecating jab at her dark complexion, she cannot be seen in the dark. A dark Christmas is what she talks about because of inflation which she partly caused by being one of the authors of the Train Law. But she talks of, you guessed it, hope and perseverance, of the Filipino surviving the hard times.
Will she survive the 2019 race? She was ranked #3-#4 in the September Pulse Asia survey. In the 2013 election, she finished #5. Better chances for her than for, say, Bato de la Rosa or Bong Go.
Voting was 3-2
Sandigayan Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg from Cebu was one of two who dissented to the decision of the anti-graft court (3-2) that just rejected Representative Gwen Garcia's motion to dismiss the charges filed against her in connection with the Balili properties.
Earlier, Division 2 of the Sandiganbayan ruled against the former Cebu governor, voting 2-1, with AJ Michael Frederick Musngi dissenting. Since the vote was not unanimous, two justices were invited, by raffle, to join Division 2 to break the impasse. Those who joined the deliberation on Gwen's case were Econg and AJ Efren de la Cruz, both from Division 1.
The voting of the now five-member panel was 3-2 with Econg, described by the Rappler report as "Cebu-based," joining Musngi in the dissent.
Econg was appointed by then president Noynoy Aquino last January 20, 2016. Age 51 last August 6, she will retire in 2037.
Econg in controversies
AJ Econg is remembered for her testimony at the Senate hearing on the controversy involving then Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno. Last February, Econg told the senators she was "not favored at all" by Sereno, saying she had been shifted from one post to another. Econg headed the SC's Program Management Office, which Sereno abolished and replaced with another office that the then CJ filled with another person.
Her and Musngi's appointment to the Sandiganbayan were also questioned by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. IBP contended that Noynoy Aquino disregarded clustering of nominees in six lists. The SC, however, ruled the appointments were valid, saying that the power of the Judicial & Bar Council to recommend cannot restrain the power of the president to appoint.
Division 1, of which Econg is a member, handles, among others, the Revilla plunder case.
She inhibited in Ecleo case
AJ Econg served as a judge of the Cebu Regional Trial Court for five years before she was appointed to head the PMO at the Supreme Court.
She was the last of six judges who inhibited themselves from the parricide case against cult leader and former congressman Ruben Ecleo Jr. in a span of 10 years. The last judge who saw the case to its end and convicted Ecleo was Soliver Peras who also tried to recuse from the case but was prevailed upon to continue or his request was turned down.
Econg filed her inhibition in April 2008, citing allegation of bias or partiality. She admitted that two women approached her and asked how much it would cost to acquit Ecleo.
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