SC asked to dismiss judge in Kuratong case

Government and private prosecutors asked the Supreme Court yesterday to dismiss Quezon City Judge Theresa Yadao for dishonesty, misconduct, partiality and unjust judgment in junking the eight-year-old Kuratong Baleleng case against Sen. Panfilo Lacson and 33 other police officers.

Yadao, presiding judge of Quezon City regional trial court Branch 81, junked the case on Nov. 12 for lack of probable cause.

In a 29-page administrative complaint filed before the Office of the Court Administrator, the prosecutors accused Yadao of falsifying the transcript of the stenographic notes, violating the Code of Judicial Conduct by giving statements to media that showed her prejudgment and issuing a ruling that showed her obvious bias for the defense.

The prosecution, led by Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, asked the Court to investigate Yadao and place her under preventive suspension "in order not to unduly prejudice the criminal cases."

"We are asking for her removal from service. We believe we won’t be able to obtain justice since she already displayed her partiality," Zuño told reporters.

The prosecution argued, among others, that Ms. Yadao falsified the transcript of stenographic notes of the Oct. 17, 2003 hearing of the case as discovered by private prosecutors.

The transcript, which was released on Nov. 14 or two days after the trial court dismissed the case, indicated that an order was issued in open court when Yadao actually walked out of her sala during the Oct. 17 hearing.

"No such court order was issued by Judge Yadao. The unlawful insertion of such order and the manner the order was couched can only be made by someone learned in law and has moral ascendancy over the clerk of court — that person can be no other than Judge Yadao," the prosecutors said.

They further argued that under the law, a judge should abstain from making public comments on any pending case and should not seek publicity for personal gain or glory.

But the prosecution said Yadao deliberately infringed the law by airing her opinions in various televised interviews.

The prosecution pointed out that Yadao manifested her prejudgment as she told the media that she would dismiss the case even as a motion for reconsideration could still be filed.

She even claimed that the defense did not exert pressure on her to junk the case. "It was the administration who did so (exert pressure)," Yadao said.

In addition, prosecutors claimed her deferment of issuance of warrants of arrest against the accused, by setting the defense’s motions for determination of probable cause, was in violation of the Code on Judicial Conduct.

"Judge Yadao set a dangerous precedent since she gave the defense control over the process of issuance of warrants of arrests," the prosecutors noted.

They further said that the judge deliberately ignored evidence showing the existence of probable cause that a crime has been committed and that the accused are probably guilty.

Under the law, a judge is mandated to conduct an evaluation of the prosecutor’s resolution and the supporting evidence to determine whether probable cause exists to issue arrest warrants.

Yadao, prosecutors said, also failed to require the prosecution to submit additional evidence in case of doubt as to the existence of probable cause.

Lacson and 33 other ranking police officials were earlier charged with multiple-murder for the alleged summary execution of 11 Kuratong Baleleng gang members on May 18, 1995.

The case has been dismissed for the fifth time but the prosecution, adamant in its claim that the accused should be punished, filed a motion for reconsideration and a motion for inhibition pending before the office of Yadao.