Secretary penned fake rulings

CEBU, Philippines -The secretary of a law office is now the subject of investigation after a lawyer confessed to Regional Trial Court Branch 13 Judge Meinrado Paredes it was the secretary who made false court decisions.

Paredes said yesterday the lawyer, his former student in Law school, went to his office and confessed that it was the latter’s secretary who made the fake annulment decisions.

The lawyer said the secretary has been fired.

Judges Ester Veloso and Olegario Sarmiento both from family court received reports that there were fake annulment decisions penned in their name.

Sarmiento said the irregularity was discovered by a clerk of the NSO who noticed his surname was missing the letter “i”.

He said the NSO was about to release a marriage contract but upon noticing the error, they decided to verify if it was really his signature. Sarmiento then denied that it was his signature.

Veloso also asked the NBI to investigate who has been forging her signature.

Paredes said when the docket number of the fake annulment decision was traced it turned out to be annulment of contract.

Paredes said to stop such irregularities at the Local Civil Registrar in Cebu City signatures must verified with the concerned judges before documents are registered.

He added Local Civil Registrar Evangeline Abatayo’s request to all 22 RTC judges in Cebu to submit specimen signatures is not the solution as these can still be forged.

“The best thing they can do is to call the concerned branch to verify but if they cannot be contacted then they will personally go for verification,” Paredes said.

Paredes added whoever did the fake annulment decision can be sued for falsification of public documents and estafa.

Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City Chapter President Earl Bonachita said this incident will erode the trust and faith of the public of the judicial system.

“I think the local judiciary knows how to go about it and I think they will prosecute those who are responsible for it,” Bonachita said. (FREEMAN)