SunStar:: 5th judge in Cebu marriage scam under probe

Because of an unsigned letter addressed to the Supreme Court, a fifth judge is now being investigated for alleged participation in a marriage scam in Cebu. Sun Star Cebu reported Saturday that the letter linked regional trial court judge Geraldine Faith Econg to the scam, which led to the suspension of four other judges. “We, the people of Cebu, have been following the events of the recent so-called marriage scam here in Cebu City and we noticed that some judges were missed out of the so called list (of) scammers," said the unsigned letter addressed to Chief Justice Reynato Puno and the Office of the Court Administrator. While the investigating team from the Supreme Court had not identified Econg as among the judges involved in the scam, it said it will expand its investigation on the matter. The letter came at the heels of a “poison letter" claiming Econg was on drugs. Econg underwent a drug test Thursday, where she turned out negative for drug use. She also denied her involvement in the marriage scam in a previous interview, saying she can recount clearly those weddings she had officiated. The investigation linking four judges to the scam was done largely from the office of Econg. In an earlier interview, Econg said the high court’s team opted to use her court as their base of operation because only her office had Internet access and a ready fax machine. Also, Econg is handling the parricide case against Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association supreme leader Ruben Ecleo Jr. The poison letter linking Econg to the marriage scam came with two certificates of marriage that Econg had supposedly signed. The first was executed in June 2007 between Kazuhiro Akiyama, 49, and Concepion Fetiluna, 30. Akiyama is a resident of Gyoda City of the Saitama Prefecture while Fetiluna is from Samboan, Cebu. Their marriage license was issued in Barili, Cebu. A second certificate of marriage was registered at the Office of the Civil Registrar in December 2006 and represented the union of Michael Huan, 34, and Daisy Mauricio, 37. Econg issued the marriage certificate after the two executed an affidavit that they had been living together for at least five years, pursuant to Article 34 of the Family Code. Both claimed to be Filipinos. Huan, as indicated in the certificate of marriage, was born of Chinese parents in Cebu City. Mauricio was born in Malabon. Both claim to be residents of Cebu City and gave the Samanthabhadra Institute, a Buddhist school in Banilad, as their residence. “The audit team from the Supreme Court pointed out these things as basis for their suspension of the four judges from the MTCC – license for marriage were obtained from Barili, where none of the contracting parties were residents of Barili, abuse of Art. 34 and (payments above the standard) marriage fee. If they were only objective and fair, should Geraldine Faith Econg be suspended too?" the letter said. “We still have plenty (more) of these documents," the letter said, adding that no marriage fee receipts were attached when the documents were obtained. Earlier, Puno ordered the preventive suspension of four MTCC judges because of their suspected involvement in the marriage scam. The suspension followed a report submitted by lawyer Rullyn Garcia and a team that the high court, through Court Administrator Christopher Lock, had sent. Among Garcia’s findings was that the four judges concerned signed certificates of marriage though their marriage licenses were issued not by the civil registrar of the locality where the parties were residing. Garcia also cited the unusual number of marriages done invoking Art. 34 in the courts concerned. - GMANews.TV