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Manila Bulletin devider devider Ex-judge in Tacloban charged with graft

Ex-judge in Tacloban charged with graft

Published Feb 15, 2018 10:00 pm
By Czarina Nicole O. Ong A former judge has been charged before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division for allowing two individuals in a qualified trafficking in persons case to post bail without holding a hearing. Judge Crisologo S. Bitas of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 7 of Tacloban City is facing two counts for violating Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Bitas was accused of showing “manifest partiality” to Danilo Miralles and Lynna Brito for letting them post bail even though there was no application or petition for it. In the charge sheet filed by Assistant Special Prosecutor III Jorge B. Espinal, Bitas was accused of acting in bad faith since the crime Miralles and Brito are accused of “is punishable by life imprisonment where bail is not a matter of light.” The judge set the bail at P60,000 each.
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