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Torres hits chief justice for clearing Bellas
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Posted on Apr 10 2000
Saying he is disappointed but not surprised, Rep. Stanley T. Torres on Friday lambasted the decision by Supreme Court Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan not to pursue his charges of misconduct and improprieties against one of the judges.
“It seems like judges and lawyers often protect each other and there’s very little other people can do about it,” he said in his letter to the SC chief, reacting to the decision.
Justice Demapan last week cleared Associate Judge Timothy H. Bellas of the allegations in a complaint filed by the representative in November, noting that there was no sufficient evidence to conduct an investigation on the case.
Mr. Torres accused the judge, among other alleged improprieties, of campaigning at a political rally on Rota before the Nov. 6 elections where he was up for retention in the Superior Court. Judge Bellas eventually lost his bid and has until 2001 to remain in office.
“[T]he days of Judge Bellas are numbered. The people have spoken and they want him to leave the bench. Now it’s only a matter time,” he said in the two-paragraph letter.
The lawmaker also said he considered the matter close as he didn’t have the resources to pursue his own probe to support the allegations. He had sought disciplinary actions against Judge Bellas to be imposed by the Supreme Court and the Attorney General’s Office which had refused to step for lack of jurisdiction on the matter.
“It’s up to the Supreme Court now to discipline or take actions on their own people,” said Mr. Torres, who is known an arch-critic of Judge Bellas, in an interview.
Judge Bellas has in the past defended himself from such criticisms, including his private life, even as he noted the Nov. 6 referendum had forced him to campaign to keep his job.
