Supreme Court insider and not outsider for Chief Justice

The Judicial Bar Council

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is about finished interviewing nominees for Chief Justice (CJ) and will soon go on with the selection process as to whose names will be submitted to choose from by President Benigno Aquino (PNoy).

This, even as Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Sonny Belmonte, as well as Senate committee on justice chairman Senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero and his House counterpart Rep. Niel Tupas agreed to pull out of the JBC following a SC ruling allowing only one representation from Congress to JBC.

But, even without Congress participating, and no matter how flawed JBC may be in its composition, as seen by Enrile, it has a role to play as a constitutionally-created body that recommends appointees for vacancies that may arise in the composition of the Supreme Court and other lower courts.

The question now is: Is JBC going to recommend a Supreme Court (SC) insider or an outsider?

So that the JBC members will not be accused of being biased for one or the other, it is a given that the recommended persons to be selected by President Aquino will be coming from both parties.

President Benigno Aquino

The question becomes critical and significant, and will determine the performance of the SC, when the same is asked of PNoy. It is important that he makes the right choice for it is one of the crucial legacies he will be leaving behind once he steps down from the presidency.

Among the candidates interviewed, it has been observed that most of those who were comfortable answering questions from the panel – more eloquent, more assertive, more confident, and seemingly more competent to occupy the position of CJ are the SC insiders, namely, Justice Antonio Carpio, Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Justice Arturo Brion, Justice Roberto Abad and Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Not only is it advantageous to appoint a replacement for CJ from within, knowing already fully well the intricacies, the processes and even the politics inside, but they rightfully deserve to be the only group to be chosen from in as much as they earned their stay position through hard work and sacrifice, not to mention their intelligence and probity. In fact they are classified from the most junior to the most senior, with the latter given the preference.

Unfortunately, such is not the case today.

But, since they have reached that distinguished position of Associate Justice of the SC, would you robbed any of them now of the opportunity to fulfill their dream of heading that most coveted position in the judiciary, the CJ of the SC?

It is for this reason that, I hope, PNoy will be guided to appoint a SC insider for CJ.

It is only fair.

So, when should we be considering then SC outsiders for SC inside positions? The answer is – only when there is vacancy in the roster of Associate Justices.

It is only fair.

(Please read related article: Search for Corona’s replacement ,  dated June 23, 2012. – Quierosaber)

DOJ, BIR chiefs should decline CJ nomination

DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima and BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares

Many think Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago is out of her rocker, like I do, but, hey, let’s give credit where credit is due.

The feisty lady senator should be lauded for her recent pronouncement that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares are not morally fit to be considered for the post of Chief Justice (CJ).

“It’s not necessarily disqualification to be a member of the Cabinet but if they participated in the impeachment trial it cannot be helped but raise doubts in the minds of the public that they were testifying so they could get rid of the incumbent and replace him,” Santiago said in an interview with reporters.

This is not only an astute observation, but a reasonable and valid assessment as well.

It is therefore in the best interest of the nation and to the advantage of the general public that de Lima and Henares decline the offer for the CJ position, much less their nomination as candidates.

It is not only the right thing to do, but it is showing the highest sense of delicadeza (propriety) by a public servant involved, one way or the other, directly or indirectly, in a very high profile case such as the ousting of no less than the CJ of the Supreme Court.

Let us not add more controversy to what we already have been subjected to. Enough is enough.

Let us move forward and have a short list of candidates instead who are less controversial and more deserving of the position of a CJ to choose from.

There are plenty of judges in all levels of the judiciary who have shown conviction, knowledge of the law and exemplary behavior, and who are more worthy than any politician or political ally out there.

Let us be fair. Let us give others the chance to serve.

Let us choose the best – one that is not beholden to any political potentate.

An able Chief Justice we will never have

 

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio

Jack Welch, the outspoken former GE CEO and management guru, once said: “Control your own destiny or someone else will.”

This may have happen to many of us – that someone else has been able to alter the path that we wanted to follow. Not that it cannot be reverse using our will, but if it is somebody powerful and influential who has all the resources to redirect the way we want to go, somehow it makes you a failure to get where you want to be and to fight will only be an exercise in futility.

Such is the case of Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

It is every lawyer-worth-his-salt’s dream to, one day, assume the leadership of the highest court of the land – the Supreme Court (SC) and Carpio did not only worked hard for it, but had the years poised to replace Chief Justice (CJ) Renato Puno upon the latter’s retirement on May 17, 2010.

Destiny would have been Carpio’s, but for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s (GMA) intervention, it was not meant to be.

GMA chose her yes man, Renato Corona.

It will be recalled that President Arroyo named Corona as SC associate justice on April 9, 2002. He was one of the youngest magistrates ever appointed to the high tribunal. Before that, he was President Arroyo’s chief of staff, spokesman, and acting executive secretary.

Though Carpio was also a GMA appointee, the former knew he could never be the latter’s choice as a check on previous Supreme Court rulings on controversial cases involving the Arroyo administration revealed that Corona usually voted in favor of the administration while Carpio voted against it.

The rest is history as everybody knew that with Corona at the helm, and with almost all of the members of the high court her appointees, she was assuredly clothed with legal protection if and when she bows out as president.

Or that was how she thought and believed it would be, until the shit hits the fan and she found herself confined to house and later to hospital arrest and Corona was not able to save her, nor Corona been able to save Corona himself.

So, what makes me say then that Carpio is an able CJ that we will never have?

Because, from the very beginning, and even while he was still a student, Carpio already showed the kind of person that he was.

“Let us not…delude ourselves into believing that a new constitution would immediately eradicate the ills that plague our country. Nor can we expect that tinkering with the constitution will totally purge it of its defects and make this nation great again…. One thing we cannot afford to overlook nor downgrade the importance of the human element. A basically workable constitution or law can become defective in the hands of enthroned rascals, as we are now experiencing,” wrote Antonio Tirol Carpio.

No, this was not written recently but was penned by him when he was a 20-year-old senior economics student of the Ateneo de Manila University in 1969. Published in The Guidon, of which Carpio was then editor in chief, the piece mirrored tumultuous times.

What he wrote then was providential, if not prophetic, for the injustices and societal inequities that he was fighting against during the Marcos regime continued throughout his career in law and the judiciary.

“The most important qualification of a judge is independence, not brilliance,” Carpio once told a former associate, and that explains his actuation in the SC.

Isn’t this what the SC justices are all about – has mastery of the law, has independence of mind, has delicadeza or high sense of propriety, has respect for the constitution, has unquestioned integrity, and is not a political stooge?

Alas, Carpio qualifies as an able CJ, but he will never be one.

Not during President Aquino’s watch.

 

 

The SC’s unreasonable TRO

 

CJ Renato Corona

The impeachment trial of Renato Corona, which is hampering the smooth governance of this country and pestering, if not numbing, the sensibilities of the Filipino people could have been easily cut short if the senate, sitting as an impeachment court, voted for the rejection of the Supreme Court’s (SC) issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the opening of the dollar accounts of the Chief Justice (CJ).

The proceeding that is being undertaken to find out whether or not CJ Corona committed culpable violation of the Constitution and/or betrayed the public trust when he failed to disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) as required by the Constitution  or that he is suspected of having accumulated ill-gotten wealth, acquiring assets of high values and keeping bank accounts with huge deposits… is not about going against the propriety of the SC as a co-equal branch of government, but rather looking into the propriety of the person, whether or not he deserves to be where he is ensconced at.

It is not about the office. It is about the integrity and the ascendancy of one where trust and confidence are reposed upon for leading the critical judicial system of the country.

I am not a lawyer, but if the thinking of a non-lawyer jibes with the pronouncements of some members of the SC who is suppose to be independently minded, then where could I go wrong?

As an ordinary citizen confronted with this negative historical event, I, like everybody else, simply wants the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

If CJ Corona is clean and does not want people to think that he has committed a crime, and if his dollar account is what is going to set him free, for it is the truth, then why did he still seek the help of his colleagues, most of whom, like him, are ex-President Gloria Arroyo’s appointees, to issue a TRO?

“The world will now know that Philippine foreign currency deposit accounts provide a much better safe haven for ill-gotten wealth than Swiss bank accounts,” Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said.

Similarly, another dissenting opinion coming from Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said that the Supreme Court order stopping the opening of Chief Justice Renato Corona’s dollar accounts has created “a safe haven for criminal acts” and “cultivated an atmosphere of impunity.”

Indeed, Republic Act 6426, the Foreign Currency Deposit Act, is intended to protect non-residents to encourage the inflow of foreign currency deposits in Philippine banks.

But, no doubt, it also serves as depository for privacy of your money, whether legally owned or ill-gotten.

So privacy is a big deal if you have caboodles of money you don’t want other people to know about.

But, what is wrong with having huge amount of foreign currency kept secret in a bank if disclosing the same or giving instructions to the bank to disclose the same won’t taint the integrity of your persona?

Why continue adopting the doctor/patient privacy or the lawyer/client confidentiality if all information/entry contained therein are above board?

It is sad to say that, where the truth was near to being revealed, with the untimely and unreasonable TRO, it has made a doubtful concealment of the truth. Definitely this does not speak well of the justices that formed the majority decision.

It is even despairing to note that majority of the senator-judges opt to agree with the ruling of the SC when they could have made this dismal trial end sooner than later.

 

Corona safe from being midnight appointee

Ever since President Benigno Aquino acknowledged Renato Corona during the “Red Mass” at the Manila Cathedral on July 7 and in his first State of the Nation Address on July 26, there was already an understanding, agreement and an acceptance that he was a legal appointee of the outgoing president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the Supreme Court chief. The Supreme Court’s confirmation was simply unassailable, as it was irrefutable.

So, why stir up the hornets nest when the chief arbiter of the land, the Supreme Court, has spoken and the going is good for PNoy?

Amid the controversy of the midnight appointments of the previous Arroyo administration, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa said the validity of Corona’s appointment has already been settled by the Supreme Court.

However, some members of the judiciary, executive departments, agencies, offices, and instrumentalities including government-owned or controlled corporations, may be included in PNoy’s directive contained in Executive Order 2 “recalling, withdrawing, and revoking appointments issued by the previous administration in violation of the constitutional ban on midnight appointments.”

The EO specifically cited Article 7, Section 15 of the Constitution, which states that “two months immediately before the next presidential elections and up to the end of his term, a President or Acting President shall not make appointments, except temporary appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein will prejudice public service or endanger public safety.”

Malacañang is said to be questioning now 977 midnight appointments made by former president Arroyo.

“The sheer number of these appointments gives basis to the opinion or belief that they were made for the purpose of depriving the next President of the prerogative of making these appointments,” De Mesa said.

It looks like former president Arroyo simply and arrogantly shrugged off a landmark Supreme Court decision in the case of Aytona v Castillo, where the outgoing administration during an election period was “enjoined from performing acts that would embarrass or obstruct the policies of the successor or negate the successor’s executive prerogative to exercise his appointing power.”

Arroyo’s numerous political patronages while ending her term of office has definitely left a bitter taste in every decent citizen’s mouth.

Corona clears self from any indiscretion

Renato Corona as chief justice of the Supreme Court (SC) was not a bad choice after all.

It was not as if he was asking for it, but like a good soldier, he simply accepted it as he was made to assume it. After all the position is the ultimate of any lawyer’s dream and ambition.

Corona has already made history.

If ever there was an indiscretion committed, it was done by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo whose bull-headedness went against the grain of decency and propriety and proceeded to make a midnight appointment out of the chief justice position.

It would have saved her a lot of negative reactions had she just given the authority to name the next chief justice to incoming president Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

That is, however, water under the bridge now.

Whatever negative opinion Corona must have gotten on his controversial appointment, he seem to have overturned it and did laudable justice to himself in his latest moves as head of the SC.

Corona’s plan to convene the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to allow the next president to name the 15h SC justice before the Aug. 17 deadline is an act of selflessness, greatness and the highest order of morality.

Corona, who is also the JBC chairman said:  “The vacancy occurred last May 17 so the (next) president has until Aug. 17 to make the appointment.”

While there may be changes in composition of their members, he assured, however, that it would not delay the selection process.

To the critics of Corona, this is simply showing them the strength of mind and the probity of the chief justice.

To his peers in the SC, it is a realization that Corona, after all, is fair and just in advocating for a level selection field among justices. He just could not say no to Pres. Arroyo then.

Another move that is endearing Corona to the public, in his short stint, is his project Justice of Wheels which he launched to speed up litigation of cases involving poor families.

It is said to be working exceptionally well.

Crony politics

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has barely a month to stay as president, yet she continues to be as recalcitrant as she can ever be.

Not contented with having appointed Renato Corona as chief justice of the Supreme Court, Arroyo has shown again her hostile and antipathetic character by reappointing Efraim Genuino as chair of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), extending his term into the incoming administration of apparent president-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

Why can’t the outgoing president simply have the courtesy, the civility and the graciousness to allow her successor to make the appointments of government positions?

It is not a question of the appointment by Arroyo being “above board,” as Elena Bautista, chief of the Presidential Management Staff, claims it to be.

Rather, it is more a question of propriety, of respectability and of good breeding that she has to defer all her midnight installations in recognition of the authority of the newly elected president.

Actually, what President Arroyo is doing is simply playing crony politics.

One time or another Arroyo must have elicited some favors from her close friends or cronies.

It’s pay-back time. Quid pro quo.

Nothing wrong, perhaps, with that, but why make it a contentious legal issue to be debated upon and resolved by the new administration when it could have been avoided in the first place?

Can’t we just turn over the reins of power and let the new administration make the choices they want for the government positions?

Hope we have seen the last of President Arroyo’s midnight appointments – for the good of the nation.

Corona appointment shows Arroyo’s lack of decency

It is not about whether or not Justice Renato Corona is qualified to sit as Chief Justice.

The issue is about President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her lack of decency in appointing Corona Chief Justice knowing fully well that it is a divisive issue coming on the heels of a successful national and local elections.

Arroyo’s display of utter disregard and disrespect for the newly elected president, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, only shows how power has corrupted her very person.

It is not a matter of having the right and the prerogative, which the Supreme Court ruled that Arroyo still has, in appointing the Chief Justice during her term of office, but prudence and wisdom dictates that it is better and advantageous for the political stability of this country to leave the appointment to her successor.

Why rock the boat? Why instigate war instead of promoting peace? Why can’t Arroyo set an example by being a statesman?

Pres. Arroyo’s continued bellicose stance does not augur well for the incoming Aquino administration.

Everybody knows that Justice Corona served under the president during the early years of Arroyo’s presidency.

If this is her way of finding protection to future court cases she may be facing for her sordid actions as president, then she has started to undermine the integrity of the institution that is the Supreme Court.

This self-serving move by Pres. Arroyo in appointing Corona chief justice, even as she has only six weeks to go, is not only sowing animosities, but uncertainties as well of the future.

Pres. Arroyo deserves nothing but contempt from people who are hoping and looking forward for better days ahead.