Cebu judge in hot water over decisions in 518 drug cases

A retired Cebu judge is now being questioned by the Supreme Court for acting on more than 500 drug-related petitions allegedly outside the jurisdiction of his sala from 1998 to 2006. Sun.Star Cebu reported Tuesday that the Supreme Court ordered former judge Ireneo Gako Jr of the Cebu Regional Trial Court-Branch 5 to explain his actions. In a resolution dated June 12, the high court en banc noted Gako acted on 518 petitions for voluntary rehabilitation of drug dependents from 1998 to 2006, despite the absence of a raffle, and even if his court had no jurisdiction over them. The resolution also ordered Gako's "successor" at Branch 5, Judge Ramon Daomilas Jr, to conduct an inventory of all pending petitions. It ordered Daomilas to transmit the results of the inventory to RTC Executive Judge Fortunato de Gracia, who was also directed to "raffle" the petitions. Gako's retirement benefits have been withheld while the investigation is ongoing. The high court said only drug courts can handle such petitions. It added that Gako's Branch 5 is considered a court of general jurisdiction. Magistrates also threatened to impose "disciplinary action" on a number of court employees for taking part in the supposed anomaly. Monica Deonaldo, officer 3 of RTC, was asked to explain why she did not submit the 518 petitions for raffle and instead brought them to Branch 5. Likewise told to explain her actions was legal researcher Nida Suico, who received the petitions from Deonaldo even if she knew that the petitions were not assigned to their court. Similarly being questioned are Jeoffrey Joaquino, head clerk of court of the RTC, and lawyer Manuel Nollora, the clerk of court of Branch 5, who were told to explain why they failed to exercise control over Deonaldo and Suico, who were directly under them. The resolution was based on the recommendations of lawyer Rullyn Garcia, the head of an investigation team that went to Cebu last April upon the instructions of Supreme Court administrator Christopher Lock. Garcia said the investigation stemmed from the letter of former RTC Judge Simeon Dumdum, which was sent after Gako retired from service last year. Dumdum, in the letter, asked for advice on how to go about the pending petitions of voluntary rehabilitation before Branch 5. "The letter caught the attention of the SC because Branch 5 where Gako is the presiding judge is not a drugs court," Garcia said. He, however, clarified that although there were "insinuations" that money was involved in the illegal proceedings, it was "never" established during the investigation. Garcia also headed the investigation team that probed the marriage scam that led to the suspension of four Municipal Trial Court in Cities judges. - GMANews.TV