The CFI (Court of First Instance), city or municipal judges, with their staff and friends, preferred to listen to good music provided by top stars and bands.

Karaoke culture

Karaoke is a Japanese word (short for orchestra) for a form of entertainment in which patrons, as in a bar, take turns singing popular songs accompanied by pre-recorded music played on a special device with the lyrics displayed on a screen.

Court sacks singing judge

The court’s 34-page resolution dismissed the judge for "gross misconduct, gross ignorance of the law, and simple misconduct."

The same judge, the court observed, previously faced sanctions for allegedly "frequenting casinos."

Plus disbarment

The grossness of the offenses moved the court to order the judge to explain "why he should not be disbarred" as a lawyer. Disbarment is the highest administrative penalty in the law profession.

As one colleague puts it: "The two ‘grosses’ listed by the Court are like crosses or the moral equivalent of a heinous crime. Just one ‘gross’ is enough to deserve separation from the bench and bar."

Era of CFI judges

According to an old lawyer CFI judges in the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s in the provinces were loners, who befriended a few government officials only at the town square near the courthouse.

The old lawyer noted: "They were respected and feared. Young lawyers like me felt overwhelmed by the decorum strictly observed by judges. From the office they walked to their boarding house before sunset. There was no drinking along the way. Court employees reported to work punctually and were not asked to do personal errands. I can’t recall a serious case filed against CFI judges in which the Supreme Court was moved to fire them."

To my best recollection, the court has "disciplined" many RTC judges in the last four years.

Playboy judge writes poems

The more sensational case was about an RTC judge in Central Luzon who wrote verses in Tagalog to his pretty clerk of court, a married woman. The husband and wife filed charges against the judge. One major national daily quoted the amorous verse which the court found as the smoking gun describing his conduct.

There was no rhyme in the poem to resemble Shakespeare’s familiar sonnets.

One ‘gross’ is enough

Most administrative cases against judges list serious grounds like "gross misconduct and gross ignorance of the law."

Various quarters assert adverse comments like: 1) this reflects against the competence of most recommendees for judicial items; 2) politicians unofficially select nominees who can deliver votes, NOT competence and integrity; 3) the procedure of selecting "at least three nominees" for appointment does not determine the true responsibility of the Judicial and Bar Council and the appointing power, and 4) the appointment from a list of nominees can mislead the appointing power if one Palace official recommends a less qualified judge.

As one critic puts it: "The old method of nominating judges first for confirmation by a political body was more transparent. A list of three or more nominees does not guarantee that the person to be appointed will have the attributes of competence and good conduct.

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