CA covenant of integrity not enough
to restore public trust in judiciary--Kiko
"CA Justices involved in GSIS-Meralco mess must resign!"

Senate Majority Leader and judicial reform advocate Kiko Pangilinan today criticized the Court of Appeals' (CA) "Covenant of Integrity" as a vain attempt to save face after several justices were found guilty of involvement in the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) bribery scandal.

"Huli man at magaling, huli pa rin ang panawagang ito ng CA. Kung gusto nila talaga ng pagbabago, matagal na sana nila itong sinimulan, hindi kung kailan may isa na namang iskandalong dumungis sa nanlilimahid nang imahe ng Hudikatura sa bansa. Bakit ngayon lang? Bakit ganito lang?" asked Kiko

"While the reforms sound good on paper, would they actually stop abuses and misuses of judicial power? As a covenant, can it live up to expectations? 'Yun ang dapat sukatan nito. Ang mahirap dito, para kasing nagpapapogi lang sila matapos silang maiskandalo. Isn't this too little, too late? The damage has been done. What the people need are reforms that directly address corruption in the judiciary," said Kiko.

The covenant was signed by Court of Appeals justices last Tuesday in the presence of Chief Justice Reynato Puno and other Integrated Bar officials. Provisions included electronic raffling of cases, revisions to the Internal Rules, creation of a one-stop-shop (for filing and followup of cases and payment of docket fees), reduction of case load and appointment of a retired Supreme Court Justice as Ombudsman. Among the other signees were CA Presiding Justice Conrado Vasquez, Justice Jose Sabio, Justice Bienvenido Reyes and Justice Myrna Dimaranan-Vidal who were all linked to the controversial case.

"Kulang na kulang pa ito. Hindi malinaw kung paano masusugpo ng mga repormang Ito ang kultura ng katiwalian na mistulang bumabalot sa lahat ng sangay ng gobyerno, di lamang sa ating hudikatura. The root of corruption in government is deep, and we cannot bring this to an end unless we establish long-term solutions to the problem. We need to send out the message that our judiciary is more than able to punish those who benefit from corruption--especially those from within its own ranks--and punish them swiftly. The best way to restore the people's faith in the judiciary is to have those involved in the Meralco-GSIS mess resign," Kiko ended.