[ OCA CIRCULAR NO. 231-2015, October 12, 2015 ]

[ OCA CIRCULAR NO. 231-2015, October 12, 2015 ]

[ OCA CIRCULAR NO. 231-2015, October 12, 2015 ]

TO : ALL JUDGES AND COURT PERSONNEL

SUBJECT : REMINDER ON THE RULE REGARDING GAMBLING AND CASINOS

Considering that the Annual Convention of the Philippine Judges Association on 14-16 October 2015 will be held at the Marriott Hotel, which is within the Newport City Complex, Pasay City, which also houses a casino, all judges and court personnel are strictly REMINDED of the prohibition against gambling or being seen in casinos.

Section 14 (4) (a), Presidential Decree No. 1869, as amended, prohibits government officials from playing in casinos.

The Supreme Court, in Circular No. 4, dated 27 August 1980, ruled that "judges of inferior courts and court personnel are enjoined from playing in or being present in gambling casinos," and cited par. 3, Canons of Judicial Ethics, which decrees that "a judge's official conduct should be free from the appearance of impropriety, and his personal behavior, not only upon the bench and in the performance of judicial duties, but also in his everyday life, should be beyond reproach."

Section 1, Canon 4, New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary, also mandates that "judges shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of their activities."

Please be guided accordingly.

12 October 2015

(SGD.) JOSE MIDAS P. MARQUEZ Court Administrator