Philippines Supreme Court suspends 4 Cebu judges in ‘marriage scam’

MANILA, the Philippines — Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno today ordered the preventive suspension of four Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Judges in Cebu City in connection with their alleged involvement in the irregular solemnization of marriages.

Reiterating his call for a corruption-free Judiciary, Chief Justice Puno, upon the recommendation of the Office of the Court Administrator, also ordered the immediate filing of administrative charges for corruption, dishonesty, gross ignorance of the law, and deliberate violation of the law on marriage against Cebu City MTCC Judges Anatalio S. Necesario (Branch 2), Gil R. Acosta (Branch 3), Rosabella M. Tormis (Branch 4), and Edgemelo C. Rosales (Branch 8). They were preventively suspended until the resolution of the charges against them.

The charges stemmed from allegations that certain courts in Cebu City conduct marriages with undue haste and for an amount higher than the prescribed 300-peso marriage fee. Chief Justice Puno was personally informed of said allegations by concerned members of the religious community, business community, diplomatic corps, and cause-oriented groups when he attended the First Distinguished Lecture, Series of 2007 held in Cebu last June 29.

That same day, before flying back to Manila, Chief Justice Puno held an impromptu dialogue with the judges to look into said allegations. On Monday (July 1), the Chief Justice sent a judicial audit team, led OCA Judicial Supervisor for Region VII Atty. Rullyn S. Garcia, to conduct an investigation into said allegations of the marriage scam.

The team in particular investigated Cebu City MTCC Branches 2, 3, 4, 8, and the Regional Trial Court, Branch 24, as well as the offices of the clerks of court therein.

Investigation showed that of the 643 marriage certifications actually examined, Judge Necesario solemnized 92 marriages under Article 34 of the Family Code from 2005 to 2007; Judge Acosta, 67 marriages from 2003 to 2007; Judge Tormis, 73 marriages from 2005 to 2007; and Judge Rosales, 48 marriages from 2006 to 2007, or a total of 280 marriages under Article 34 of the Family Code, which represent 43.54 of the total number of marriages solemnized.

However, such figures do not accurately reflect the actual number of marriages solemnized by the four judges during the period, as the number of marriages listed in the logbooks for marriages was higher than the number of marriage certificates actually examined.

The team found that there were marriage licenses obtained from the local civil registrar in a place of which neither of the contracting parties are residents. Likewise, there were discrepancies in the signatures of the local civil registrars of Barili and Liloan, Cebu appearing in the different marriage licenses purportedly obtained from their respective offices, suggesting that the signatures of local civil registrars were forged.

There were also marriages that were solemnized sans supporting documents, i.e. marriage license, certificate of legal capacity with respect to foreigners or joint affidavit or cohabitation. Still, some marriages were solemnized without proof of payment of the required solemnization fee.

Copies of the marriages certificates and other supporting documents for marriages solemnized by the judges concerned were found in the custody of other courts than their own. Documents, including logbooks for marriages, invariably show the names of court employees who have been identified as “fixers” or “facilitators” for marriages as well as the names of “runners” or “assistants” who facilitate the application for marriage license.

Two individuals issued affidavits confirming these findings, adding that there were package fees for the solemnization can go from Php1,500 to Php15,000.

“Undeniably, Judges Necesario, Acosta, Rosales, and Tormis abused their authority to solemnize marriage, thereby making a mockery of the sanctity of marriage,” the investigation report stated.

Aside from Atty. Garcia, members of the investigating team are Judicial Supervisors Marilou Marzan-Anigan, Pascuala S. Magtibay, Attys. Jocelyn P. Gamboa, Ma. Alma Corazon H. Puncia, Francis Rainier R. Navarrate, Reynan Dollison, Mitzi Mayumi L. Arao, and Christopher Theodore Z. Dela Cruz.