MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Francis Pangilinan called again on the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to consider opening the selection process for the next chief justice to live media coverage.
In a statement, Pangilinan, an ex-officio JBC member, said an amendment of JBC rules to allow public access to its deliberations would go a long way in promoting greater accountability, utmost transparency, and good governance in the judiciary.
“We are humbly asking the JBC, for the sake of transparency, accountability, and good governance, to reconsider its position,” he said.
“We have learned from and during the impeachment trial that the public has a higher stake in governance, now more than ever.
“If some effort is required to change the rules of the JBC, this is all for the sake of implementing urgently needed reforms in the judiciary.”
Sen. Francis Escudero, a JBC member, previously rejected the suggestion of Pangilinan because amending the rules would take a long time, which they do not have.
Sen. Ralph Recto also opposed the proposal on grounds that the integrity and sanctity of the processes must be preserved and that the body must be trusted to perform its duties beyond suspicion and reproach.
Tough decision for De Lima
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has a tough time deciding whether to remain at the Department of Justice (DOJ), run for the Senate, or accept a nomination in the Supreme Court (SC).
In an interview during the Independence Day rites at the Bonifacio Monument in Calooocan City, De Lima said she needs to talk to President Aquino to help her decide in which position she could best serve the government.
“If I will stay in DOJ where I am enjoying my job and I still have to face many challenges or if I will shift to politics and join the Senate or if I will further my career as a lawyer and accept nomination in the SC– I really don’t know,” she said.
De Lima said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told her Aquino plans to talk to her about this matter.
“Just like what the President said, we need to assess the gains vis-à-vis the losses should I decide to stay or purse the other options,” she said.
It was flattering for the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and the Zambales Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to nominate her for the chief justice post, she added.
Meanwhile, De Lima said the impeachment of Renato Corona and his removal as chief justice is the start of the attainment of independence from the ills that have beset the judiciary for decades.
“This is consistent to the matuwid na daan being taken by our current government,” she said. “There’s so much more things to do before we reach that goal.”
De Lima also defended Aquino on the recent drop in his approval ratings in the latest Social Weather Station survey.
“There are many areas where the administration is strong, like law and order and anti-corruption, and that’s a big achievement already because it’s been a long time since a President got such high ratings,” she said.
“The challenge really is the economy. But it is not just the Philippines that’s struggling in the area of economy.”
De Lima, who sits as ex-officio vice chair of the Judicial and Bar Council, has inhibited from the selection process for the chief justice post because of her possible nomination.
Court observers feared that the disbarment case against De Lima could be basis for her disqualification for the top SC post.
However, veteran lawyer Romulo Macalintal said the pending disbarment case against De Lima cannot be the basis to disqualify her from being nominated.
“For sure, the said case does not involve grave offenses of graft and corruption that could make a dent in her proven competence, integrity, probity and independence which the Constitution mandates to be possessed by a member of the Supreme Court,” he said.
“The disbarment case against De Lima has not reached the stage where she is formally charged or that the evidence of her guilt is strong to justify her exclusion from the list of nominees to the said position.”
The JBC now has 12 initial candidates for the chief justice post.
Under JBC rules, acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and the other four most senior SC justices – Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion and Diosdado Peralta – were automatically nominated for the post.
Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares, former UP law Dean Raul Pangalangan, lawyer and women’s right advocate Katrina Legarda, Ateneo law school dean Cesar Villanueva and lawyer Marianito Sadondoncillo were also nominated for the chief justice post last week.
Henares, meanwhile, said the idea of being chief justice “is interesting because of the judicial reforms.”
“The attraction on the chief justice’s position is the judicial reform aspect, the management of the courts, the administrative side, the institution of reforms,” she said.
But she admitted she is still reluctant to leave the Bureau of Internal Revenue at a time when the administration is trying to generate more funds for government coffers and plug leakages in tax collection. – With Edu Punay, Delon Porcalla