Closed-door policy for SC probe into Ma’am Arlene

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) committee tasked to probe an alleged big-time court fixer known as “Ma’am Arlene” is set to summon resource persons in its next meeting to shed light on the issue.  

But the meeting will be held behind closed-doors and the identities of the resource persons will not be disclosed to the public, according to a statement  released by the SC Public Information Office (PIO) on November 6.

Instead, the PIO will release a statement after the meeting. 

The head of the committee, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, gave the chief of the SC PIO the sole authority to speak on behalf of the committee. “While its proceedings and deliberations are confidential and not open to the public, regular reports will be given by the Committee through the PIO so that the public may be informed of the progress of the investigation.” the PIO said. 

The Leonen Committee was created in the wake of news reports revealing the existence of a certain “Ma’am Arlene,” who allegedly specializes in fixing big corporate cases.

The body, which also includes retired Associate Justices Alicia Austria-Martinez and Romeo Callejo Jr, is tasked to consolidate current investigations into these allegations, including parallel investigations by the Court Administrator, the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Court of Appeals. 

At present, the committee is in the process of verifying information obtained from such investigations, the PIO said. 

After a series of informal meetings, the committee has agreed to meet on an “almost weekly basis.” – with a report from Angela Casauay/Rappler.com