Impeach raps filed vs SC justice over 'plagiarism'

(Updated 5:47 p.m.) A group of "comfort women" — sexual slavery victims during the Japanese occupation — on Tuesday called for the impeachment of Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, who is accused of plagiarizing his ruling on the complainants' earlier case. Members of the Malaya Lolas, an organization of comfort women from Mapaniqui, Tarlac, were joined by 11 lawmakers in filing the complaint. They accused Del Castillo of betrayal of public trust for alleged plagiarism and misrepresentation when he authored the ruling on comfort women (Vinuya v. Executive Secretary). Del Castillo had dismissed the petition of Malaya Lolas asking the court to compel the Philippine government to get public apology from Tokyo and provide reparation to victims of sexual abuses during the World War II. The SC on October 12 ruled that Del Castillo did not commit any misconduct or inexcusable negligence and absolved him of the charges of plagiarism and misrepresentation. GMANews.TV was still trying to reach Del Castillo and the Supreme Court for their comments as of posting time. Complainants Isabelita Vinuya, Pilar Galang, Maxima de la Cruz, Leonor Sumawang, Maria Quilantang went to the office of House Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap to file the complaint. They were accompanied by:

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali,

Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy,

San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito,

Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento,

Quezon Rep. Irvin Alcala,

Bukidnon Rep. Florencio Flores Jr.,

Iligan City Rep. Vicente Belmonte Jr.,

Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr.,

Quezon City Rep. Jorge Banal Jr.,

Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, and

Akbayan Rep. Kaka Bag-ao. The complainants said Del Castillo’s alleged act of intellectual dishonesty exposed the SC to ridicule before the international legal community. “Its (SC) integrity as an institution was put to question, and the public confidence in the judicial system and in the moral authority of the judiciary was further eroded," the complainants said. They said Del Castillo betrayed public trust when he lifted without attribution significant portions of the works of foreign authorities, in violation of pertinent rules on use and citation of sources. They also said Del Castillo twisted what International Law professors/authors Criddle, Fox-Decent, Tams, and Ellis said in their works to make it appear that the theory espoused by these authors support an argument to dismiss the case. “Justice Del Castillo betrayed public trust when, in twisting the true intents of the sources, he misled the other members of the Honorable Supreme Court," the complainants said. They further said that Justice Del Castillo’s alleged acts have rendered him unfit to continue in office. “His continued service will prejudice the public interest and will bring the entire Supreme Court and the country’s justice system into disrepute." They said to allow Del Castillo to continue occupying his position will send a bad signal to the nation, especially the youth, that plagiarism and the unbridled cut-and-paste habit in the technologically advanced period are considered as acceptable practices. “Respondent Del Castillo was appointed to one of the highest positions in the judiciary and thus, there is no reason why his service to the public should be allowed to fall short of the highest standards expected of him. Accordingly, the flimsy excuse of “Microsoft Office" should not be even allowed to exonerate him of the eventual consequences of his negligence and omission," they said. Umali, in an interview, said filing the complaint is their way of showing displeasure to the SC. “This is the statement that we want to make. We are for the people and we would to stop injustices committed against the Filipino people," he said. Bag-ao believed the offense was committed not only to the comfort women but against the Filipino nation. “This plagiarism is a very clear example of dishonesty as a system that is being tolerated by the SC," she said. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV