By Ben R. Rosario
Notwithstanding the ongoing impeachment case against her, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno should continue her house cleaning of the Judiciary in the wake of allegations on the alleged involvement of a certain magistrate in the “TRO for sale” racket, Negros Oriental Rep. Arnulfo Teves said.
Teves said that a top provincial official on the verge of being dismissed from his post was able to secure a Temporary Restraining Order to stop the disciplinary action imposed on him by an anti-graft body.
Teves said Sereno should look into such reports despite being accused of committing impeachable offenses.
“The Chief Justice must continue to carry out her pledge to cleanse the Judiciary. SC should check on allegations of TRO for sale in the Court of Appeals and other lower courts,” Teves said.
The administration solon claimed having received numerous information on corruption in the issuance of TROs.
“According to the grapevine, a governor from one province outside Luzon will soon benefit from a TRO of a dismissal order issued by an anti-graft body,” said Teves.
He added: “If this becomes a norm, then corruption in the Judiciary will never stop.”
Teves noted that despite Sereno’s vow to carry out sweeping reforms that would cleanse the Judiciary of corrupt officials, dishonesty and corruption have continued.
“All that Chief Justice Sereno has to do is to observe the way some courts issue judicial relief such as TRO. As the top magistrate in the country, Sereno is expected to smell graft and corruption even in far away courts in Visayas and Mindanao,” he said.
