The special raffling of marriage solemnization applications will no longer be allowed at the Regional Trial Courts.
Acting executive judge Ramon Codilla Jr. issued a memorandum the other day prohibiting such special raffling following suspicions that there are still court employees making money out of it.
According to the memorandum, all applications for marriage must be filed in advance with the office of the clerk of court for it to be included in the raffle.
Executive judge Fortunato De Gracia, who is on leave, earlier issued a memorandum that applications for marriage should be raffled to different salas. He, however, allowed special raffling on a case to case basis.
The raffling of marriage solemnization started a few months ago following reports that some judges and court employees are making money out of it. According to reports, some judges are collecting exorbitant fees instead of the P300 mandated by the Supreme Court.
In fact, an investigation was launched by the high tribunal on the controversy where four municipal trial court judges have been preventively suspended.
Chief Justice Reynato Puno earlier ordered that MTCC judges Anatalio S. Necesario (Branch 2), Gil R. Acosta (Branch 3), Rosabella M. Tormis (Branch 4), and Edgemelo C. Rosales (Branch 8) be placed under preventive suspension pending investigation of their alleged involvement in the so-called “marriage coordination scam.”
Puno ordered the preventive suspension based on the reports submitted by the judicial audit team headed by Atty. Rullyn Garcia. The team of Garcia was sent here to look into the reports that certain courts in Cebu City conduct marriages with undue haste and for an amount higher than the prescribed P300 marriage fee. — Fred P. Languido/QSB