Betrayal T he Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), envisioned to be an independent body, and created under the 1987 Constitution to ensure its insulation from politics and away from congressional pressure, is certainly proving itself to be not only under the control of Malacañang but also gives in to executive pressure. The old way was a lot better, since Congress then had the power to question, approve or reject these presidential appointees to the bench and better still, congressional hearings were public. Presidential pressure and control obviously had been applied by Noynoy in the case of then Associate Justice Lourdes Sereno, Noynoy’s first appointee to the Supreme Court (SC), whom he wanted to appoint as his chief justice, even when she was clearly not qualified, having flunked both her psychological and psychiatric tests, as she had obtained the second to the lowest score of 4, with 5 being the lowest. Under JBC rules, judicial aspirants obtaining a grade of 4 are deemed automatically disqualified for the position. Yet there went the JBC, including Sereno in the shortlist, knowing that Noynoy would be appointing her as the Chief Justice of the Philippines who would moreover be serving some 20 years in the High Bench. The same was done by the JBC in the case of the now most junior justice, Marvic Leonen, whom the JBC had also included in the shortlist, again knowing that Leonen was Noynoy’s choice, even when there were more qualified aspirants, some of whom have extensive experience in the Bench, both of which Leonen and Sereno never had prior to their appointments to the judiciary. Again, the JBC proved just how much of a Noynoy puppet it is, what with Liberal Party president Interior Secretary Mar Roxas’ protégé, Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rafael Santos, making it to the JBC’s shortlist for the post of Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan, which list is to be submitted to Noynoy who will then choose one out of the five. Just how did Roxas’ protégé get the top vote of the JBC members, obtaining six votes, tied with Court of Appeals Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas? How is it that Santos got more votes than say, Associate Justice Gregory Ong, the most senior magistrate and officer-in-charge of the anti-graft court, who obtained a mere four votes? Does experience in the Bench no longer count? Does merit even no longer count? Ong probably would never have gotten the appointment anyway, since Noynoy identifies him with Gloria Arroyo, his pet peeve. Still, what Bench experience does Santos have? Chances are, he would have more experience in political and influential lawyering and politics with a bias, since he is the loyal official of Roxas, having served as his undersecretary in Roxas’ first turf under Aquino, in the Transportation and Communications department, then followed Roxas as his undersecretary in the Interior department. Santos earned notoriety among legal practitioners as he admitted to the JBC body during the interview of nominees that his move to seek the post in the Judiciary has the blessing of Roxas. An association of corporate lawyers then called on the JBC to exercise great care in choosing the next Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan as a result of Santos’ close ties with Roxas. “A nominee for the Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan who openly admitted that he had obtained the ‘blessings’ of a political patron before applying for the said post is clearly not suited for the role. More so if that same nominee was previously a Senior Partner in a law firm known for its political ties,” lawyer Maribert Pagente, president of the Legal Management Council of the Philippines (LMCP), stated. Santos was also senior partner at the Carpio, Villaraza and Cruz (CVC) Law Offices or “The Firm.” “It is a basic precept of judicial ethics that a judge, like Caesar’s wife, must be above suspicion. He must not only be impartial but should also appear impartial,” the legal group said. Looks like the puppet JBC doesn’t heed this ethical standard. Should the JBC even have considered Santos as a shortlister if its members were truly independent and insulated from politics? But if Noynoy chooses Santos, he would hardly be accepted by the Sandigan justices just as many senior SC justices have not quite accepted Sereno. But Malacañang and the JBC have no shame, betraying the Filipino people that way.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 23:17:53 +0000
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