SC has sole jurisdiction over corruption complaints vs. judiciary

MANILA – Complaints against members of the judiciary, like justices and court employees, filed with the Task Force against Corruption (TFAC) are referred to the Supreme Court (SC) which has exclusive jurisdiction over them.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Friday said TFAC has received corruption complaints against judiciary personnel and were immediately turned over to the SC.

“We’re aware of the Judicial Integrity Board, which has exclusive jurisdiction,” Guevarra said in an interview.

Guevarra noted though that there are no more than five complaints that involved low-ranking court personnel.

“I suppose people generally know where to complain if the persons involved are judges or justices,” he added.

The TFAC earlier said that from 240 complaints, the number has been trimmed to 180 after duplicates were removed.

Some have been referred to the National Bureau of Investigation for further evidence while others are under evaluation by the Complaints Evaluation Committee.

Those that have passed evaluation were tossed back to the concerned agencies for review or action.