MANILA – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said in a news conference last Wednesday that he will expose the alleged corruption in the judiciary with evidences and witnesses.
Trillanes refused to name his sources and informants but straightforwardly said that Justices Jose Reyes Jr. and Francisco Acosta, two Court of Appeals justices, each received P25-million bribe money from the Binay family to stop the implementation of the preventive suspension of Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr.
The senator said that Reyes and Acosta first received P20 million each for the temporary restraining order (TRO) then later got the remaining P5 million each upon the subsequent issuance of an injunction favoring Junjun Binay.
Trillanes already filed a resolution in the Senate “calling for an investigation” on the purported “justice for sale” system and other related anomalies in the judiciary.
The senator had witnesses and wanted to allow them to relay what they know about the bribery. However, he wanted to do it on closed doors or have the informants face the senators privately.
When asked if the witnesses will reveal their names, Trillanes said that they have the option to disclose their identities or not.
“Ultimately, it’s their decision because it could change their lives. We will provide them with all the protection that is needed. But still, it’s their lives, especially if they live in that world. If you take them out, where will they go?” he said.
Regarding his evidences, Trillanes admitted that he had no paper trails or receipts as proofs of bribery. However, he said that he could cite the justices’ previous rulings establishing a pattern of wrongful behavior.
“We can show the pattern of behavior, the TROs, the frequency, the flip-flopping decisions, we will show all these. We will comb through their previous decisions,” Trillanes said.
“One of these days, we will expose them: who had fronted for them, who they had talked to, how much they paid. Eventually, we will bring them all out,” he added.
Trillanes believed that eventually, the “Vice President and the justices in his pocket will go down.”
Aside from Trillanes, the Coalition of Filipino Consumers also claimed that TROs in the Court of Appeals were indeed “for sale” with a price of P5 million.
The Supreme Court, on the other hand, refused to comment on the allegations as the high court does not comment on such statements.
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, however, vowed to continue the “painful but necessary” cleansing process within the judiciary.