MANILA, Philippines - Supreme Court Administrator and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez is facing charges for alleged misuse of the high tribunal’s Judicial Reform Support Project (JRSP) funds from the World Bank (WB) and for abusing his office by lawyering for Chief Justice Renato Corona who is facing an impeachment trial at the Senate.
In a three-page complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman yesterday, Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello said Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales should investigate Marquez for possible criminal and administrative offenses.
Marquez decried Akbayan’s move, saying it was still premature because the Supreme Court (SC) is presently addressing the WB’s concerns.
Bello said there are supposed irregularities in the implementation and management of the JRSP as evidenced by “disturbing details” pointing to him and Corona “at the center of another tangle of questionable transactions” involving funds intended to expedite case resolution and increase access to justice, among others.
“Based on reports sourced from the World Bank, Mr. Marquez’s designation as court administrator, head of the Public Information Office and chair of the Bids and Awards Committee led to a ‘breakdown in internal controls’,” he said.
He alleged that ineligible expenditures were charged against the project funds and contracts were approved and awarded despite issues flagged by the Office of the Court Attorney.
“As a result of these irregularities, implementation of key components of the JRSP has stalled. Furthermore, the WB has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to refund the $199,000 (or roughly P8.6 million) in ineligible expenditures,” Bello’s complaint read.
He argued that the amount, which was funded through a loan and therefore a liability of the state, would inevitably be paid for from public coffers.
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