Senate to subpoena San Juan judge for failing to destroy shabu shipment

September 19, 2017

Senator Richard Gordon will ask a judge from San Juan handling the case of  the 890 kilos of smuggled shabu from China for delayed actions to appear before the Blue Ribbon Committee next week.

Gordon, chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, said he will subpoena Judge Jovencio Gascon for not ordering the destruction of the P6.4 billion worth of illegal drugs seized in San Juan on December 23, 2016.

"I am willing to challenge the gods of law and subpoena the judge even if I know I should not subpoena him so that I will create a constitutional crisis where the court will say you have no right to interfere  in the judiciary and I will now say the judiciary is not doing their work",  Gordon said in the Senate hearing on the shabu smuggling case on Tuesday.

Of the total number of confiscated shabu, only 560 kilos were given the green light by the San Juan court to be inspected but no date has been set for this, said  National Bureau of Investigation Director Jun de Guzman.

Gordon said the drugs should have been destroyed after 72 hours alloted for the ocular inspection as stated by law.

Justice Secretary Vitalliano Aguirre  II  said there will definitely be a "mini constitutional crisis" if Gordon continues with his plan to summon Gascon.

"We have separation of power here: executive from legislative from judiciary. They are supposed to be co-independent and equal one another. If he summons a judge that would be intruding or interfering with the sphere with the judiciary", he said in ambush interview after the hearing.

Aguirre said the hearing on the P6.4 billion worth of shabu was postponed several times after the judge was said to be sick.

He said the supposed last hearing on the case was scheduled on July 17 but it was  moved to September 18 since Gascon was sick. It was also postponed and pushed to September 28 for the same reason.

"If he is really sick, then there will be an excuse. I'm not unreasonable if he is really sick but what is important for me is for the Supreme Court to know that the judge is delaying the case", Gordon said.

Gordon said he will subpoena the Supreme Court through the Court Administrator to summon Gascon. Alanna Ambi/DMS