MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) said it will take actions on reports about judges who were allegedly among those listed in President Rodrigo Duterte’s list of protectors of the illegal drug trade.
SC Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta has been ordered to communicate and coordinate directly with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) regarding the “narco-list.”
“This will pave the way for a formal fact-finding and administrative investigation by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, like in the past, will and shall not tolerate any illegal or corrupt activities within its ranks,” the SC said.
Duterte earlier said around 13 judges and 10 prosecutors are supposedly on the latest narco-list.
The SC conducted a probe on the first batch of judges on Duterte’s narco-list and these include: Exequil Dagala of the Dapa-Socorro, Surigao Municipal Circuit Trial Court; Adriano Savillo of the Iloilo City Regional Trial Court (RTC); Domingo Casiple of the Kalibo, Aklan RTC; and Antonio Reyes of the Baguio City RTC.
Dagala has been cleared of allegations of involvement in the illegal drug trade, but he was ordered dismissed by the High Court in September 2017 for immorality and gross misconduct.
Savillo and Casiple were also cleared of their involvement in illegal drugs./PN
