SC looks into other influence peddlers in judiciary

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) is looking into other possible influence peddlers in the judiciary as it gathers more leads to the identity and activities of a certain “Ma’am Arlene,” whose alleged wheeling and dealing with some judges and rich litigants has earned her the label of the judiciary’s version of Janet Lim-Napoles.

A source told The STAR that based on initial investigation by the Supreme Court, “Ma’am Arlene” is not a court employee but has enough influence to “fix” cases in the Manila regional trial courts and in the Court of Appeals (CA) for wealthy client-litigants. Napoles is widely acknowledged as the mastermind in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.

The source declined to reveal Ma’am Arlene’s identity pending verification, but revealed that she has links to the Housing and Urban Development Council (HUDC) and a local government executive.

“She used to be a staff or consultant of the local official. They have previously attended events of PJA (Philippine Judges Association) together,” the insider explained.

Local government officials usually attend PJA conventions since judges normally ask for their assistance and sponsorships for the events.

But the source, a lawyer who has been with the high court for over a decade, pointed out that information reaching the SC showed that Ma’am Arlene could be “operating on her own.”

“There is no indication that the local official is privy or even aware of her ops (operations) in the courts,” the source clarified.

“Based on information we gathered, she seems to have a principal from Iloilo – a businessman/importer,” the source added, declining to elaborate so as not to jeopardize the ongoing probe.

The source also bared they have found that Ma’am Arlene and the HUDC were litigants in a case involving the takeover of a major port facility.

3 ‘Ma’am Arlenes’

 Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez, who is heading the SC probe on the controversy, declined to confirm the information.

But he revealed that they uncovered in their initial investigation that there were three “Ma’am Arlenes” in the judiciary – a clerk from the Court of Appeals, a former employee at the Manila RTC, and a Manila City Hall employee.

“We already have their names, but we can’t reveal them yet because our information is still very raw,” he explained.

Marquez declined to discuss further details pending the SC probe, but the source revealed that two of them were really named Arlene while the other is Erlene.

However, Marquez denied a report from another newspaper that Ma’am Arlene had “booked rooms in a posh hotel in Makati for judges to vote for one of the candidates” in the elections for president of the PJA.

“We made unofficial inquiries with the (hotel) and there was no such booking for 50 judges recently. There is also allegations that she gave away Hermes bags, but these are general allegations not supported by evidence so far,” he bared.

Marquez also stressed that whatever transgressions one or any of the three had committed would pale in comparison to Napoles’ wrongdoing.

“It’s nothing compared to Napoles, so it’s an exaggeration to compare them. In Napoles, we’re talking about P10 billion in public funds,” Marquez said.

“This case of Ma’am Arlene is a very simple graft and corruption, which of course should be investigated and prosecuted,” he told reporters.

The SC official also revealed that the controversy started during the campaign for election of officers of the PJA.

“Apparently, there is one candidate accused of being supported by a certain Ma’am Arlene who is said to wield influence in the courts. So it started as a smear campaign against someone aspiring for the presidency of the PJA until it was blown out of proportion,” he explained.

Quezon City regional trial court Judge Ralph Lee won the PJA presidency over Makati City RTC Judge Rommel Baybay and Marikina City RTC Judge Felix Reyes.

Marquez, who supervises CA justices and all trial court judges in the country, said he has given Lee, Baybay and Reyes until Monday to submit their comments on the controversy.

At the closing ceremony of the PJA convention last Thursday, he urged the judges not to resort to “political strategies” in winning elections in associations, as he cited the need for them “to institute meaningful reforms, not only on how to expedite the resolution of cases, but also in the conduct of elections.”

“We just cannot go on like this. You are judges. You are not politicians. Let us be good examples to our younger judges in the first level courts, and even to the lawyers practicing before our courts,” he told the judges.

He expressed belief that some sectors were trying to drag down the judiciary “at a time when the judiciary could have risen above the executive and legislative departments which are now embroiled in the PDAF and DAP of Napoles.”

“We’ll just have to answer all these attacks and show to everyone that if there are irregularities, these are confined to small portions or part of the judiciary,” he stressed.

But he clarified that should there be evidence against any member of the judiciary, the SC would not hesitate to act.

“Of course, if we find damning evidence against them after our investigation, we’ll not hesitate to file appropriate charges against them,” he said.

Marquez said his initiative to investigate the controversy has the support of Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno.

The STAR columnist Jarius Bondoc wrote in his Oct. 7 column that Ma’am Arlene is known among circles of CA justices and RTC judges for being the “go-to girl if they need to give an offspring an expensive graduation or wedding gift.”

Bondoc alleged that the woman “is notorious as a fixer of cases, with investigators, prosecutors and magistrates, mostly in Metro Manila” and likened her to Napoles.

He said Ma’am Arlene paid for the food during a recent convention of trial judges in the Visayas.

Bondoc did not provide the full name of Arlene, but court sources said she is known even to court employees and that she is a native of Iloilo and related to a Chinese smuggler of flour.

Sereno earlier called on whistle-blowers to come forward to bolster allegations of corruption in the judiciary.

Sereno said charges against members of the judiciary should be backed by solid evidence, lamenting that talks of corruption have become rife in legal circles, “but in hushed tones and through blind items.”