Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo has the option to retire and avoid the difficulties of having to face impeachment over accusations of plagiarism, according to a highly reliable source.
The source, who requested anonymity, said Del Castillo is mulling the option and could inform the President about his decision today.
“Why impeach Justice Del Castillo when he is offering to retire? I was informed that he has until tomorrow (Monday) to make a decision,” the source said.
The source said that the House could still pursue an impeachment charge against Del Castillo over the same accusations.
The House committee on justice chaired by Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. is expected to meet tomorrow to discuss what to do on the impeachment complaint against Del Castillo.
While there are those who argue that it was now too late for the justice committee to pursue the impeachment against Del Castillo because it has gone beyond the 60-day limit within which the House could act on the present complaint, others said there is no stopping the filing of a new complaint over the same accusations every year that he remains in the High Court.
Del Castillo, a close friend of SC Chief Justice Renato Corona, was named to the SC on July 29, 2009 by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo now a Pampanga congresswoman.
He has eight more years until the mandatory retirement age of 70 for Supreme Court justices.
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