SC charges retired CA justice Dicdican over lawyer’s killing

CEBU, Philippines — The Supreme Court has formally charged retired Court of Appeals Associate Justice Isaias P. Dicdican with gross misconduct for his alleged involvement in the murder of Cebuano lawyer Joey Luis B. Wee.

In a press briefing, SC spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting confirmed that Dicdican was charged in connection with the 2020 killing of Wee, who was gunned down outside his office in Barangay Kasambangan, Cebu City.

According to Ting, the Supreme Court’s charge is administrative in nature since Dicdican is still a member of the bar despite his retirement from the Court of Appeals in 2015.

“The ultimate penalty will be disbarment. Another penalty for retired CA justice Dicdican possibly is he won’t be able to receive his pension anymore if he is found guilty,” Ting said.

The SC directed Dicdican to file his answer to the charges within a non-extendible period of 10 days from notice.

Ting also noted that a separate criminal case has already been endorsed by the National Bureau of Investigation to the Cebu City Prosecution Office and/or the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Wee, who was known to handle cases involving elected and appointed officials, was killed on Nov. 23, 2020, as he walked from his car to the stairs of his office building. His wife, who was with him at the time, was spared.

Five men have been indicted for the killing: Fausto Edgar Benigno Peralta (also known as Edgar Benigno Tamodra), former Army Colonel Edwin Layese, John Raymond Suarez, Randy Palparan (a.k.a. Jake Agustin), Manuelito Camacho, and an unidentified man.

Peralta, the alleged main gunman, was arrested by the NBI in Cabuyao, Laguna in 2020. He confessed to the killing and implicated his co-conspirators.

According to Peralta, Suarez served as his backup shooter, Palparan tailed the victim’s vehicle, and Camacho prepared the getaway motorcycle. He claimed that Layese, former director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Western Visayas, hired them for the operation.

Authorities earlier linked Layese to a gun-for-hire group and said he was involved in the ambush of another lawyer, James Gupana, in Lapu-Lapu City on Oct. 10, 2020. Gupana survived the attack with three gunshot wounds.

In a notarized 18-page extrajudicial confession executed on Dec. 14, 2023, and filed before RTC Branch 14 in Cebu City, Layese named Dicdican and a certain “Miss Riza” as the masterminds behind the plot to kill Wee.

According to Layese, Miss Riza lost a legal case and was ordered to pay a large amount to Wee’s clients. She allegedly bore a grudge against the lawyer and wanted the debt reduced, but negotiations failed.

Layese said she felt bullied by Wee in and out of court and expressed her anger during a phone conversation with Dicdican on speakerphone.

He claimed the plan was discussed inside Dicdican’s house in Guadalupe Heights Village, Cebu City, on Nov. 16, 2020.

Layese added that Riza also wanted Wee’s wife to be killed, but he instructed the gunmen to spare her because the couple had children.

He further revealed that the original contract price for the murder was P1 million but later increased to P1.5 million. The amount was allegedly delivered in three tranches to Palparan/Agustin.

Through his lawyer, Atty. Rameses Victorious Villagonzalo, Layese said in a press statement yesterday that he is not seeking a free pass for his role in the killing but admitted to serving as the “go-between” between the masterminds and the gunmen.

He described himself as “the least guilty” of those charged and noted that his application to become a state witness has not yet been formally filed or approved by the court.

“To the mind of Col. Layese, relative to the said Supreme Court administrative case, his judicial affidavit of confession may have been utilized by the private complainant in said administrative case,” Villagonzalo said.

He also disclosed that the affidavit was used by Manila prosecutors in their application for a precautionary hold departure order against Dicdican and Riza before RTC Branch 19 in Cebu City on Feb. 2, 2025.

Layese said he had known Dicdican since 2013, regarded him as a mentor and friend, and had even driven for him from Dalaguete to Cebu City. He emphasized that he did not receive any money from the killing.

Meanwhile, the next hearing in People v. Layese and People v. Peralta is set for April 25, 2025, at RTC Branch 14 in Cebu City. — /ATO (FREEMAN)