The Blue Ribbon Sub-Committee, chaired by Sen. Koko Pimentel, resumes its inquiry on the alleged overpricing of the 11-storey new Makati City II Parking Building, the 22-storey Makati City Hall Building and related anomalies. (MNS photo)
MANILA, Apr 15 (Mabuhay) – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is willing to reveal his sources to prove his allegation that two Court of Appeals (CA) justices were bribed to stop the suspension order against Makati Mayor Junjun Binay.
“I got the information, validated it and found it to be true…We’re willing to talk to these informants if they’re willing to get burned,” he said.
Trillanes said he also wants to summon the two justices to the Senate probe into the so-called “justice for sale” system in the CA, but that will be up to Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice.
The 2 CA justices – Jose Reyes Jr. and Francisco Acosta – have belied Trillanes’ claim, with Reyes calling it harassment.
The Supreme Court has said it has sole jurisdiction over complaints against lawyers, judges, and magistrates. However, Trillanes believes that the Senate investigating the justices is part of the system of checks and balance.
Amid criticism that he has no concrete evidence to back his claim of bribery, Trillanes said he will present past CA rulings to illustrate how the justices supposedly abused their discretion.
“We will comb through their rulings, the past TROs they issued and show a pattern of behavior just like in past hearings and pass this on to the SC,” Trillanes said.
“They may not be dismissed for taking bribes but they can be dismissed for grave abuse of discretion.”
Trillanes, meanwhile, challenged lawyer Pancho Villaraza to show up at the Senate probe. The senator tagged the lawyer as the one who facilitate the alleged bribery.
Trillanes added he doesn’t only want to reform the justice system, but he also wants to raise the salary of justices to deter corruption in the judiciary. He is also seeking to create an Ombudsman-like body within the judiciary which can investigate erring justices. (MNS)