Justice accused of plagiarism takes sick leave

Source: http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/

MANILA, Philippines – Supreme Court Justice Mariano del Castillo will take a leave next week to undergo a heart bypass. Del Castillo is the subject of impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives for allegedly plagiarizing parts of papers done by international law scholars in a decision he penned in 2010. 

On Tuesday, February 7, the House committee on justice declared as “sufficient in grounds” the impeachment complaint filed against the justice.

In 2007, Del Castillo went through a quintuple bypass operation; he was then a member of the Court of Appeals.

The surgery was apparently not that successful and, in an interview in 2008, he admitted to us that he consulted another doctor through the help of then First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo.

Mr Arroyo then asked his cardiovascular surgeon, Dr Alex Yap, to be flown in from the US to treat Del Castillo.

But SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said that Del Castillo continues to experience heart problems. “Apparently the bypass was not very successful, because the arteries remain to be clogged, except for one,” Marquez told a press conference.

Marquez said Del Castillo may be gone for 2 weeks, but quashed rumors that the justice will take an early retirement. “He will continue,” he said.

Del Castillo, 62, was absolved by the SC of plagiarism in 2010, saying he merely inadvertently deleted the attribution. This decision is also included in the Articles of Impeachment filed against Chief Justice Renato Corona. – Rappler.com