Monday, November 7, 2011

SC justices under fire for fraud, ‘cover-up’ | Top Stories

SC justices under fire for fraud, ‘cover-up’ | Top Stories

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Two justices of the Supreme Court (SC) were separately accused of falsification and alleged “cover-up” by a town mayor of Negros Occidental province over a case involving a controversial auction a decade ago of 85 condominium units in Makati City (Metro Manila) that were owned by the defunct Urban Bank.

Mayor Magdaleno Peña of Pulupandan town has lodged a complaint before the High Court Committee on Ethics and Ethical Standards and the Office of the Chief Justice against Associate Justice Antonio Carpio for allegedly falsifying a November 13, 2002 ruling of the tribunal’s First Division to favor Urban Bank and against Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno allegedly for “protecting” Carpio by refusing to inhibit from the active case despite her closeness to Carpio.

In two complaint letters dated September 16 and 20, 2011, copies of which were leaked to the media, Peña accused the two justices of giving undue favors to Urban Bank, which petitioned the Supreme Court to stop Peña and the Deputy Sheriff of Branch 62 of the Regional Trial Court of Bago City from perfecting the sale of the bank’s auctioned assets—the 85 Urban Bank Plaza condominium units.

In a letter to Peña dated October 18, 2011, High Court Clerk of Court Enriqueta Vidal told the mayor that his complaint has been referred to the committee on ethics and that he shall be “immediately informed of any action taken thereon.”

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