Ex-CA justice fined for casino gambling

The Supreme Court (SC) has fined a former Court of Appeals (CA) justice for conduct unbecoming of a member of the judiciary after he confessing to gambling in casinos.

Normandie Pizarro, a retired associate justice of the appellate court, has been ordered to pay a fine of P100,000 after the SC decided he violated the prohibition among government officials to play in casinos, as provided by Presidential Decree No. 1869.

He was also found to have trespassed Canons 2 and 4 of the New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary.

The March 13 ruling penned by Associate Justice Samuel Martires stemmed from an anonymous letter-complaint, with attached pictures, accusing Pizarro of "habitually gambling in casinos, 'selling' decisions, and immorally engaging in an illicit relationship."

The letter accused Pizarro of losing millions of pesos in casinos and insinuated he would "sell" his cases to support his "gambling addiction," said the resolution. The anonymous communication further claimed Pizarro bought his mistress housing units and brand-new vehicles, and took her and her family abroad to shop and gamble.

In his comment to the letter, Pizarro admitted to his "indiscretion" of gambling, as seen in photographs supposedly attached to the complaint, and added that he also played at a casino in 2009 under a "parlor game concept."

"He maintained, however, that such was an indiscretion committed by a dying man because, prior to this, he had learned that he had terminal cancer," the resolution said.

The former magistrate denied having a mistress. The SC threw out the allegations of corruption and immorality for lack of merit.

"The Court has repeatedly reminded judges to conduct themselves irreproachably, not only while in the discharge of official duties but also in their personal behavior every day. No position demands moral righteousness and uprightness from its occupant than does the judicial office," Martires' ponencia said.

In declaring the P100,000 fine "sufficient" a punishment, the Court took into consideration that the violation was Pizarro's "first transgression," his "immediate admission" of gambling, and the number of years he had served in government.

Martires' ponencia was concurred in by 11 SC justices. Only Associate Justice Marvic Leonen dissented, saying Pizarro should be dismissed from the service and his retirement benefits forfeited for gross misconduct.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is on leave, while Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin took no part due to "close relations" with Pizarro.

Pizarro was the CA justice who wrote the decision voiding the warrant of arrest against and "exonerating" former Palawan governor Joel Reyes, tagged in the murder of broadcaster Dr. Gerry Ortega in 2011.

He also penned the ruling acquitting the previously convicted Janet Lim Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel scam, in her illegal detention case.

In July last year, he wrote the decision that dismissed the petition seeking to enforce a US court decision awarding some $2 billion in compensation to human rights victims during the administration of former president Ferdinand Marcos. — BM, GMA News