Judge in Mile Long case named to Sandigan

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has named Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 141 Judge Maryann Corpus-Mañalac as his fifth appointee to the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan.

The judge will fill the vacancy left by associate justice Maria Cristina Cornejo, who died in September this year.

Mañalac was the judge who ordered the eviction of Sunvar Corp. from the Mile Long property in Makati City.

Her appointment cuts down the anti-graft court’s vacancies to three following Duterte’s appointment of associate justices Bernelito Fernandez in December 2016; Lorifel Lacap-Pahimna in April 2017; Edgardo Caldona and Bayani Jacinto both in May 2017.

The Sandiganbayan currently has 17 justices and would need three more, giving Duterte the chance to name at least eight of them.

Eleven of the magistrates were appointed by former president Benigno Aquino III, including the court’s head Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, while two were named by former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

At the appellate court, Duterte appointed Walter Ong to take the vacancy left after Associate Justice Noel Tijam was promoted to the Supreme Court (SC).

Ong has been in private law practice with Ong Meneses Gonzalez and Gupit law offices. He finished his law degree at the Ateneo de Manila University and his master’s in law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

His brother, former Sandiganbayan associate justice Gregory Ong, was dismissed from the judiciary for “gross misconduct, dishonesty and impropriety” after getting accused of “serious transgressions” in relation to his decision acquitting Janet Lim-Napoles from the anomalies noted in the government’s purchase of 500 Kevlar helmets for the Marines.

The SC found that Ong inappropriately met with Napoles after her acquittal, which came prior to the ongoing plunder cases against her for embezzling billions in senators’ Priority Development Assistance Fund through dummy organizations.

Also yesterday, the President promoted CA associate justice Romeo Barza to presiding justice, replacing Presiding Justice Andres Reyes who was also promoted to the SC earlier this year.

Barza was among those who dismissed the plea of detained Sen. Leila de Lima in her drug trading cases. – Edu Punay