Clear air on Nazario, Joker prods GMA

Sen. Joker Arroyo urged President Arroyo yesterday to clear the air regarding the "curiously intriguing" appointment of Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Minita Chico-Nazario as a Supreme Court associate justice and Virgilio Garcillano and Manuel Barcelona as members of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

"These two sets of mishandled appointments by the President are for Ripley’s (Believe it or Not)," he said.

Arroyo, who is not related to the First Family, said in the case of Garcillano and Barcelona, there was "no rush or compelling need for Mrs. Arroyo to appoint them, since five Comelec members, led by Chairman Benjamin Abalos, still comprised the majority of the seven-member poll body."

And yet, the President appointed the two "to the consternation of the public and the Bar."

"Garcillano, who rose from the ranks of the Comelec, would have been cheered by the career service but, unfortunately, he is tainted by the infamous ‘dagdag-bawas’ (vote padding/shaving) scandal, while Barcelona has no prior experience in election law. Thus, we have the popular demand to recall their appointments," he added.

The maverick senator pointed out that in the case of Nazario, who was recommended by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), Mrs. Arroyo appointed her to the Supreme Court and Malacañang accordingly announced her appointment.

"Unfortunately, for reasons known only to the President, (Nazario’s) appointment was never implemented," he said.

He said the President should finalize Nazario’s appointment by transmitting it to the Supreme Court or find a replacement.

"Justice Nazario’s appointment cannot be left twisting in the wind," he said. "It just isn’t fair."

He reminded the President that, under the Constitution, a vacancy in the Supreme Court must be filled within 90 days of its occurrence.

"Here we have the absurd situation where the President has, for unclear reasons, deferred the overdue implementation of Justice Nazario’s appointment despite its constitutionally mandated deadline; whereas in the case of the Comelec appointments, no deadlines have to be met and where the appointments do not appear to have been sufficiently vetted, we have the President acting with undue haste," Arroyo said.

Senate sources said while the President has appointed Nazario to the Supreme Court, she has not transmitted Nazario’s appointment to Chief Justice Hilario Davide.

Nazario is the wife of Rod Nazario, manager of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao. The President’s campaign handlers had reportedly planned to have Pacquiao endorse the President, but he is busy training overseas for a coming fight. It is not known if this has something to do with the botched appointment of Nazario.

There are reports that "The Firm," the law office of F. Arthur Villaraza, a friend of the President, is pushing for the appointment of Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo to the Supreme Court. Benipayo’s name was on the JBC short list submitted to the President.

Meanwhile, retired Sandiganbayan presiding justice Manuel Pamaran, who is one of ousted President Joseph Estrada’s lawyers, said Mrs. Arroyo has no word of honor as he defended Nazario and vouched for her credentials, integrity and track record.

The deferment of Nazario’s appointment to the high bench, Pamaran said, was "unfair" and "shows the President has no word of honor... It creates a bad image on the prospective appointee and the President herself."

"Somebody must be criminally liable," he added, saying an investigation should be conducted on Malacañang personnel who were responsible for releasing the documents regarding Nazario’s appointment to Palace reporters, then attempted to recall them an hour later.

The President said there was a clamor for Nazario to "settle some of the more important issues" regarding the Estrada plunder trial which is sitting before Nazario’s sala and "so I am giving (her) some time with regard to that."

Nazario was to have been the President’s eighth appointee to the 15-member SC to replace retired Justice Josue Bellosillo, who retired on his 70th birthday on Nov. 13, 2003. Bellosillo had reached the mandatory age of retirement for justices.

Earlier, lawyer and Sandiganbayan spokesman Renato Bocar spoke on Nazario’s behalf and denied that her appointment was recalled. He said Nazario had received a fax transmittal from Malacañang regarding her SC appointment, which could even be used as evidence under the Electronic Evidence rule.

Sources in the JBC said the transmittal of Nazario’s appointment to Davide was more important than its transmission to Nazario.

Meanwhile, JBC member and Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said the failure to fill the SC vacancy after the 90 period lapsed on Feb. 13 "sets a bad precedent."

In light of this, Pangilinan will file a resolution "with the JBC urging the President to fulfill her constitutional mandate to fill vacancies within 90 days."

"Malacañang should clarify once and for all the status of Nazario’s appointment. We haven’t heard anything definite from the President until now," Pangilinan said in a statement.

"The President is duty-bound to nominate from among those in the list submitted by the JBC, as provided by the Constitution," he added. "The selection has undergone thorough process by the JBC through public panel review and evaluation by the council."

He also said "the Constitution does not give the President the discretion to disregard the nomination list submitted by JBC."

"By disregarding the JBC list, the President is undermining the constitutional mandate of the JBC," he said. — Jess Diaz, Delon Porcalla