I refer to The Philippine STAR issue of Jan. 15, 2009, particularly the article written by a certain Marvin Sy, excerpts of which read as follows:
“One of the two nominees least favored by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for the position of Supreme Court associate justice has turned out to be the choice of President Arroyo. (Underscoring Supplied)
Peralta, along with fellow Sandiganbayan Justice Francisco Villaruz, got the least number of votes from the JBC. (Underscoring Supplied)
Trailing Villarama was Ateneo law school dean Cesar Villanueva and CA Second Division chair Portia Alino-Hormachuelos”
The above quoted excerpts of the article are INCORRECT and UNFAIR to me, to say the least.
Judicial and Bar Council records will show that I and Justice Peralta got five (5) votes equal to the number of votes garnered by Dean Villanueva and Justice Hormachuelos.
It is therefore incorrect to say that I am one of two nominees least favored by the JBC or that I got the least number of votes from the JBC along with Justice Peralta.
The article is unfair to me, because, if the intention was to slant the article against Justice Peralta, there is no reason why I should be included and maligned as being “least favored” by the JBC or getting the least number of votes from the JBC. For your information, I was the top choice of the Supreme Court for the position. Having failed to get the appointment, this is similar to “adding insult to injury.”
In keeping with the spirit of responsible journalism, I hope that you, as Editor-in-Chief of The Philippine STAR of which I am a regular subscriber, will see fit to correct the error and the disrepute caused to my good name. — FRANCISCO H. VILLARUZ JR., Senior Associate Justice, Sandiganbayan