Gibo: Supreme Court selection must be transparent
By Jaime Laude (The Philippine Star) Updated January 17, 2010 12:00 AM
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MANILA, Philippines – Any appointment to the post of Supreme Court (SC) chief justice must be done with
transparency and must be acceptable to the people, Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate Gilbert
Teodoro Jr. said yesterday.
“What is important is to protect the judiciary’s credibility by ensuring that the process of selection is
transparent and that whoever is appointed is acceptable to the people,” Teodoro, a Bar topnotcher and
Harvard-trained lawyer
, said.
“The bigger issue is not really whether it (appointment) would be legal but whether the process is
transparent and the appointment acceptable,” he stressed.
Teodoro’s position was sought following a controversy over calls by Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) member
Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor for the collegial body to start the process of selecting the next chief justice
ahead of the vacancy, which will only arise when Chief Justice Reynato Puno reaches mandatory retirement
on May 17.
Teodoro also cautioned against unfounded speculations and said that the acts by those involved “enjoy a
presumption of regularity.”
Critics argue that the process Defensor is proposing would allow President Arroyo to appoint a chief justice
in violation of the constitutional prohibition against midnight appointees.
Palace allies, on the other hand, claim that an early appointment would help prevent a vacancy in the high
tribunal.
Teodoro has announced plans, if he gets elected, to give more teeth to the judiciary, saying a strong justice
system is key to improving the peace and order situation in the country.
Teodoro said he envisions the Philippines becoming the “fullest and purest functioning democracy” in the
region and eventually leading its neighbors in global competitiveness and economic prosperity.
“My vision is for the Philippines to be a leader in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
“We can be the purest and fullest democracy in this part of the world and be an example to others,” he added.
“It is very important for a president to listen and consult with his countrymen through an exchange of ideas,”
Teodoro said, adding that he considers it vital that the national leadership create a “principled and
responsible consensus for the country.”
He further said that Filipinos should learn to benefit from the diversity and richness of the national culture
and not pursue a homogenous national identity, which he described as unachievable.
The Philippines should instead “embrace its rich culture and its mixture of people of different religions from
our interactions with other countries throughout the century,” he said.
Teodoro identified the biggest hindrance to the attainment of national aspirations as the lack of strong
institutions to produce quality educated people.
In his platform of government, Teodoro assigned top priority to reforming the education system and enabling
every Filipino household to have a son or daughter graduate with a college degree through an innovative
student-loan program.
Teodoro said other major stumbling blocks to economic modernization include the lack of a long-term
infrastructure plan on the national and local levels, and the need to establish a stable peace and order
situation.
“There are a lot of challenges facing the country such as basic education reform, peace and order and local
government. Addressing these issues adequately will only happen if the government earnestly listens to its
citizens through informed participation and exchange of ideas,” he said.
No apology
Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said he would not retract or apologize for
vowing not to recognize a new SC chief justice appointed by President Arroyo, if he is elected.
“Why should I apologize for following the Constitution? I am merely following the Constitution. Based on
Article 7, Section 15, there is a ban, there is a prohibition, that President Arroyo, before and after the
presidential elections and up to the end of her term, is not allowed to make any appointments,” Aquino told
reporters at the 60th birthday celebration of Gawad Kalinga (GK) founder Tony Meloto in Bagong Silang,
Caloocan City yesterday.
“There’s no reason to apologize. I am following the Constitution. I swore an oath to defend and uphold it,” he
said in an interview.
Aquino has drawn flak for threatening to disregard the midnight appointments of Mrs. Arroyo to the SC if he
gets elected president.
“I think that by expressing my stand, it also helped in creating awareness that the public should oppose any
proposal from the administration that President Arroyo can appoint an SC justice at this time,” he said.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said there was nothing wrong with Aquino’s pronouncements.
“We fully support his position. There is nothing presumptuous about this, and certainly not ill advised.
Senator Aquino believes that a president should never tolerate illegal and unconstitutional edicts - and
rightly so,” Pangilinan said.
Pressure mounts
Pressure is mounting on the JBC to approve or reject the proposal to nominate - and for President Arroyo to
appoint - a new chief justice, months ahead of Puno’s retirement.
The Supreme Court Appointments Watch (SCAW) has called on the JBC to “open up its deliberations on this
matter in full view of the public.”
In an open letter to the JBC, the SCAW, which includes the Philippine Association of Law Schools,
Transparency and Accountability Network and other groups, called for open deliberations “to dispel doubts...
(and) to regain the trust of the public.”
Following the lead of the Philippine Bar Association, the Cebu chapter of the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines objected to the suggestion of Defensor that the body start the screening process to give Mrs.
Arroyo the opportunity to name Puno’s replacement.
The IBP Cebu chapter, in a resolution, said the move “is not only constitutionally impermissible but morally
and historically devious because the President as an outgoing chief executive must not appoint a person to
a position which has not become legally vacant.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Miriam Santiago urged the JBC to meet tomorrow and submit to President Arroyo a list of
three nominees from the incumbent justices from which she could choose the next chief justice.
“The Constitution provides that Supreme Court members shall be appointed by the President from a list of
three nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council,” she said.
“This provision is mandatory. However, the President can override the JBC in cases of national emergencies
such as national survival and security,” she added.
But administration Rep. Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga said Mrs. Arroyo cannot bypass the JBC.
“This means that the President cannot on her own appoint a chief justice. She has to wait for a list of
nominees from the JBC,” Barzaga said.
A law professor at the Ateneo de Manila University said it’s Mrs. Arroyo’s obligation to appoint Puno’s
replacement before the end of her term.
“In the clash of two policies in the Constitution, one banning the president to appoint the chief justice during
the specified period and the policy to fill the vacancy when required by the paramount public interest, the
latter should prevail,” Dr. Arturo Makalintal de Castro said.
Another lawyer, Jayvee Bautista, said Mrs. Arroyo wants to appoint a friendly chief justice in preparation for a
failure of elections scenario.
“We are entering uncharted seas in the coming automated elections, we don’t know how the machines will
function,” Bautista said at the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo in Quezon City. “Will it read the ballots?”
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