Appointment of new SC administrator backed

Sen. Robert Barbers expressed his support yesterday for the appointment of Court of Appeals’ Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. as Supreme Court administrator.

Some quarters have objected to Velasco’s appointment because of his alleged connections to suspected drug lord Kim Wong, a friend of embattled Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

Wong, owner of three restaurants in Rizal Park, was tagged by former undercover agent Angelo "Ador" Mawanay as a drug lord.

Another former agent, Mary "Rosebud" Ong, also aired suspicions on Wong’s connections to the Hong Kong-based triad but did not name him outright as a drug lord.

Both testimonies of Mawanay and Ong were made before a joint Senate hearing headed by Barbers, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs.

Barbers, however, described the alleged friendship of Velasco to the suspected drug lord as "flimsy and unsubstantiated."

"Even if (Wong) is indeed a drug lord, it does not follow that Justice Velasco is also involved in the person’s illicit activities," he said.

Barbers said he is giving his full support to Velasco because he knows Velasco personally and he believes Velasco can very well discharge the duties and responsibilities of an SC administrator.

"Justice Velasco’s outstanding credentials as a practicing lawyer, Integrated Bar of the Philippines president, justice under—secretary and CA justice are more than enough to qualify him to head a vital office in our judicial system," he said.

The SC administrator oversees the personnel of courts under the Supreme Court and hears all administrative cases against judges of inferior courts.

Velasco was appointed to the CA to replace Alfredo Benipayo, who was named chairman of the Commission on Elections. — Efren Danao