SC fines ex-judge for ignorance of the law

Even after his dismissal from the bench, troubles have not ended for former regional trial court judge Ildefonso Suerte, who was slapped by the Supreme Court with a fine of P40,000 for ignorance of the law that was committed by him while he was still in the active service sometime in 2003.

The Supreme Court en banc presided by Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. ruled that Suerte is guilty of gross ignorance of the law when he ordered the detention of Silas Y. Cañada for indirect contempt of court, but the number of days of detention has exceeded the allowed period.

The Rules of Courts provides that when a person, who will be cited for indirect contempt of court - by a regional trial court - shall be punished only by a fine of not exceeding P2,000 or imprisonment of not exceeding 10 days, or both.

But in Cañada's case, Suerte who was then the presiding judge of RTC branch 60 based in Barili town, ordered the arrest of the Cañada on August 5, 2003 and did not specify in his warrant of arrest the period as to how long latter should be put in jail.

"Worse, it is not disputed that Cañada was detained for 14 days, four days beyond what the rule allows. Were it not for the writ of habeas corpus issued by the Court of Appeals, Cañada would not have been released from detention," the Supreme Court ruled.

Cañada's counsel asked Suerte to reconsider his decision that cited his client for indirect contempt of court, but the judge reportedly refused to grant the request unless Cañada would also withdraw his affidavit that was used as basis for filing a petition before the Court of Appeals.

Cañada had asked the appellate court to prohibit Suerte from hearing and trying the cases that was filed against him pending at Suerte's court.

The SC ruled that if the law violated is so elementary, like rule 71 of the Rules of Courts, it is gross ignorance for a judge not to know it or to act as if he does not know it. Rule 71 provides the scope of a judge's authority to punish for contempt and the procedure to be followed,

"The judge should be studiously careful himself to avoid even the slightest infraction of the law, lest it be a demoralizing example to others," the SC added.

The Office of the Court Administrator only recommended a P10,000 fine for Suerte, but the SC increased the amount to P40,000.

But since Suerte has already been dismissed from the bench after he was also found guilty of ignorance of the law, incompetence and gross misconduct, and that all of his retirement benefits and privileges have already been forfeited in favor of the government, the P40,000 shall be taken from his accrued leave credits.

In the event that his leave credits would be insufficient to pay for the said fine, Suerte shall be required to pay the amount or the balance thereof, as the case maybe, to the court within ten days from the date of finality of the resolution.

To recall, Suerte was fired after he issued a decision acquitting Cedrick Devinadera, who reportedly confessed his involvement in the killing of Alona Bacolod-Ecleo when in fact a similar case is still pending before the RTC in Cebu City.

Due to the controversial issue, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of Suerte and ordered that Devinadera be freed.