BAGUIO CITY , Philippines – Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Arturo Brion believes the next chief justice would face public perception of creeping political partisanship within the judiciary and the impending implementation of constitutional reforms.
During a public interview with the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), Brion said the next chief justice must undertake appropriate measures to restore the judiciary’s integrity and independence and to avoid lending political color to its decisions.
“We learn to say yes if the Chief Executive is
correct, but we will not hesitate to say no if the President’s actions are wrong and violative of existing laws,” he said.
Brion said the dividing line between the appointing power and the appointee for chief justice, as well as other sensitive positions in the judiciary, usually ends when they start officially discharging their duties and functions.
Judgment will be rendered against the executive’s official action if it violates the law and the same is upheld if the executive turns out to be correct, he added.
Brion was the first of four aspirants for the post of chief justice to be subjected to a public interview.
The other candidates who will undergo the rigid JBC interview are Associate Justices Renato Corona and Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and acting Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Edilberto Sandoval.
The JBC decided to hold a two-day public interview for the aspirants for the post of chief justice to get their answers to the complaints filed against them, as well as their plans and programs for the judiciary.
The public interview is being conducted at the SC Session Hall in Baguio City.
During a three-hour grilling by the JBC members led by Chief Justice Reynato Puno, Brion said the moral ascendancy of the chief justice on members of the judiciary is imbued in both the office and the person.
The Filipino virtue of utang na loob (debt of gratitude) is a cultural burden that should be avoided since the judiciary’s primary role is interpreting the Constitution and resolving conflicts among laws, he added.
Brion said the SC must be able to exercise its main function as adjudicator, rule maker, administrator and supervisor in accordance with the Constitution in the best interest of the people.
SC justices should not give in to the whims and caprices of politicians to avoid ruining the image of the judiciary and the tribunal, he added.
The SC must be ready to deal with efforts to introduce constitutional reforms as well as efforts to question it, Brion said.