TEDDY 'BOY' LOCSIN JOINS 17 OTHER CJ NOMINEES / CHOOSING THE
NEXT CJ
[PHOTO - Makati City Rep.
Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin Jr]
MANILA, JUNE 15, 2012 (MANILA BULLETIN) By REY G.
PANALIGAN - There are now 18 candidates for the position of Chief Justice.
The latest nominees are former solicitor general Francisco I. Chavez
and former Makati City congressman Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin Jr.
Chavez was nominated by Manuel Baviera, organizer of the Whistle Blowers'
Association of the Philippines, while Locsin was recommended by lawyer Brigido
Dulay and ABAKADA party-list president Jonathan de la Cruz.
The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has until June 18 to accept applications
and nominations to the top post in the judiciary. It is also the deadline for
those nominated to accept or decline their nominations.
Earlier nominated for the Chief Justice post were retired Judge Manuel
Siangco Jr., lawyer Rafael Morales, Ormoc City Vice Mayor Nepomuceno Aparis,
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner
Kim Henares, former University of the Philippines law dean Raul Pangalangan,
lawyer Marianito Sadondoncillo, women's rights advocate Katrina Legarda,
Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, and former Ateneo de Manila University law
dean Cesar Villanueva.
The lone applicant was a nurse name Jocelyn Esquivel. It was not known
immediately whether Ms. Esquivel is also a lawyer.
De Lima yesterday said that if Esquivel is not a lawyer she is not qualified
to even be considered by the JBC.
"Kung nurse ka, hindi ka qualified. Actually, you know, on the bare terms of
the JBC rules and even under the Constitution, hindi pwede if you are not a
member of the Bar and has had at least 10 years of practice. So how can a nurse
be a member of the Bar? Unless she is a member of the Bar, she is not
qualified," De Lima stressed.
Under JBC rules, automatically nominated are the five most senior justices of
the Supreme Court led by the now Acting Chief Justice Antonio T. Carpio. The
other most senior justices are Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., Teresita J. Leonardo
de Castro, Arturo D. Brion, and Diosdado M. Peralta.
So far, only Pangalangan and Legarda have accepted their nominations in
separate letters sent to the JBC.
The JBC will start its public interview of the nominees on June 25. (With a report from Leonard D. Postrado)
BLOG WATCH
Choosing a chief justice Choosing a chief justice
BY Marites Dañguilan Vitug
[PHOTO - Marites Dañguilan Vitug]
The impeachment trial has done us a big favor. It has made it easy to
identify the qualities the next chief justice should possess.
We can neatly sum it up in a sentence: it's everything Renato Corona isn't.
Let us count the ways.
One. To borrow from Rep Rodolfo Fariñas, someone who does not make
'palusot'. A person who does not weasel out of a duty or obligation. A person
who doesn't spin lies till he gets caught in a web of his making.
Two. Someone who is truly honest and does not have a sense of
entitlement. This person doesn't reimburse personal expenses, from a barong
tagalong to expensive meals in high-end restaurants. Neither does he or she
accept favors such as a platinum card from an airline company, or an honorary
membership in an exclusive country club.
Three. A person who feels accountable to the people and believes in
transparency. Thus, this person will disclose his or her Statement of Assets,
Liabilities, and Net Worth, and is unafraid to issue a waiver to the Ombudsman
to probe his or her real worth—not as a last-minute calculated move but as a
standard practice.
Four. On the institutional level, a leader who will open up the
financial books of the Supreme Court for scrutiny, including the Judiciary
Development Fund and the Special Allowances for Justices, both of which come
from legal collections.
Five. A leader who will reform the judiciary and use loans meant for
reform projects productively and not for PR stuff like goodwill basketball games
with another country's Supreme Court staff and to hire an agency to monitor
media coverage of the Court.
Six. Someone who decides cases fairly and with fidelity to the
Constitution and not out of loyalty to the appointing power nor in exchange for
favors given by vested interests. Coupled with this, someone who will not
preside over dizzying flip-flops of cases and treat letters from a prominent
lawyer with utmost urgency and reverence.
Seven. A person who doesn't use his or her position to benefit oneself
and his family, like influencing the courts to decide in favor of a family
business.
Eight. A person who avoids getting entangled in conflict-of-interest
situations like having a family member appointed to juicy posts by the
President.
Nine. Someone who says no to shady characters, beginning with those
who are too willing to lend him or her multi-million peso SUVs.
Ten. Someone who is not insecure about his or her academic credentials
so he or she doesn't need to invent honors and attain a doctorate even without
the proper requirements.
Hard-fought victory
President Aquino faces a golden opportunity to reshape the Supreme Court and
the rest of the judiciary by appointing a chief justice who will not tolerate
corruption, speed up resolution of cases, and open up the most opaque
institution in the country.
It need not take a decade to dispense justice. The next chief justice should
see to this. Disclosure of information should be the rule and not the exception.
For one, the public has a right to know how the Court spends its budget,
savings, and collections.
We need to know the caseloads of each justice, their backlogs, and the length
of time it takes them to resolve cases.
We need to have access, through the Court's website, to information on
pending public-interest cases, transcripts of oral arguments, and why justices
take no part in certain cases. Some justices simply write "No part" or "No part
for personal reasons" or "No part because of relations to party" when they sign
decisions. Apparently, these justices do not feel accountable thus they do not
see the need to explain.
Today, as many heave a collective sigh of relief after going through more
than 4 months of an impeachment trial that divided the nation and caused us
pain, we can only hope that the President will not squander this hard-fought
moment. This is a big win for his anti-corruption program and call for
transparency.
Choosing a chief justice based on politics and not on the principles and
ideals the President holds dear will negate this momentous victory. - Rappler.com
Call to P-Noy: Choose chief justice wisely
Philippine Daily Inquirer
We commend the conviction of Chief Justice Renato Corona by the
senator-judges. We hope this would lead to a new paradigm of transparency and
accountability in governance, as Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said.
The conviction has already snowballed into an en banc order by the Supreme
Court to release the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth of all
members of the judiciary, and a number of legislators and government officials
volunteering to waive confidentiality of their bank accounts.
Partido Lakas ng Masa believes that for justice to endure, the government
should now "open the book" of the top echelon of its bureaucracy to the scrutiny
of the public. But disclosing the assets and properties of government officials
is also not enough. Public accountability requires public scrutiny on how the
wealth was acquired.
In this regard, we ask the Aquino administration to review and reintroduce
the idea of the Truth Commission that was rejected by the Corona-led Supreme
Court last year.
This time around, the commission can be tasked to look into the
irregularities committed not only by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
but also by all the top officials of the land, whether pro-Gloria or pro-Noynoy.
The commission and the Ombudsman can assist each other in ferreting out the
anomalies and prosecuting all those involved in wrongdoings.
We should not stop at just the waivers. We should audit all these accounts
and assets, and confiscate whatever is ill-gotten or simply unexplainable. The
government can use these properties to finance more welfare services for the
people. Perhaps, the government would then have enough funds to get rid of the
value-added tax (VAT) which has become an onerous burden to the poor since its
implementation.
Once again, we ask that President Aquino be circumspect in choosing the new
chief justice. We believe that one of the main reasons why we have a
factionalized Supreme Court is that the power to appoint Supreme Court justices
is in the hands of the president.
President Aquino should adopt a transparent approach in choosing the new
justices. This can be done in a process that integrates public nomination,
consultation and hearings. Independent people's organizations, including human
rights groups, civil society groups and others should be allowed to nominate
members of the Supreme Court based on constitutional requirements. We should
refrain from choosing Supreme Court justices who have merely served corporate
interests, as there are more laudable lawyers doing meritorious services to the
people.
—SONNY MELENCIO, chair, Partido Lakas ng Masa
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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