A Pasay City regional trial court (RTC) judge and his acting clerk of court were preventively suspended for 90 days by the Supreme Court (SC) for reportedly demanding and accepting P6 million from a litigant for a favorable decision on a civil case.
Preventively suspended were RTC Judge Albert T. Cansino and his Acting Clerk of Court Mariejoy P. Lagman. Formal administrative proceedings have been initiated against them.
The SC had earlier directed Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva to submit a report on the incident.
Based on Villanueva’s report, Lagman was arrested during an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on anonymous complaint received by the Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) via email.
After verifying the information, Villanueva said an entrapment operation was conducted using five marked P1,000 bills and about P6,000,000 boodle money.
Also confiscated during the entrapment was a copy of the Order bearing the judge's signature on the civil case.
Villanueva’s report also stated that both the judge and the acting clerk of court are now the subject of criminal investigations before the Department of Justice (DOJ).