SC sacks, disbars Benguet clerk of court

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Philippines —   The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed and disbarred the clerk of court of the La Trinidad Regional Trial Court for bribery and serious misconduct.

In a ruling issued in July but published only on Dec. 21, the SC dismissed from the service Jurgens Milan based on a complaint filed by a certain Shirley Tiwaken.

The high tribunal found that Milan demanded P10,000 in exchange for his assistance in a case involving issuance of land titles, collected P35,000 for case follow-ups and P25,000 for the release of documents.

The high tribunal said that Milan released copies of land titles without court permission to people who were not authorized to receive the document.

Milan failed to report his action and made it appear that the releases were based on orders of the court, the SC said.

Although the violations were committed before 2023, the SC applied the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, which allows pending cases to be decided under its rules.

The court said Milan violated the ethical standards set for lawyers and all employees of the court.

The SC permanently disqualified Milan from holding any position in the government and forfeited his retirement benefits.

Aside from dismissal and disbarment, the high court ordered Milan to pay a fine of P18,000 for ignoring court directives.