LIMA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra on Thursday pledged to combat corruption in the wake of recent scandals involving high-level judicial authorities, including a supreme court judge.
"I have made the commitment to change Peru by combating corruption," Vizcarra said during a work tour of the country's northern Amazonas region.
The message came a day after Vizcarra announced the formation of a commission to study and recommend an extensive reform of the judicial system.
Vizcarra spoke of the audio recordings published by media outlets on Wednesday, which allegedly demonstrated corruption among some members of the National Council of the Magistrature (CNM), an autonomous constitutional institution which appoints all of the nation's judges and prosecutors.
The audio clips, which have been circulating since Saturday, have caused outrage among the public. They reveal CNM members illegally wielding their influence and absolving crimes of sex offenders.
According to local media reports, the recordings implicate Supreme Court Judge Cesar Hinostroza, Superior Court Judge of Callao Province Walter Rios, and three council members of the CNM.
"We are at a special time in the country where we are seeing major examples of corruption among officials in the judicial branch -- we have to change that," the president said.
Vizcarra said he would present the reform plan to the National Congress at the annual Message to the Nation on Independence Day, July 28.
