JBC

debunks

conspiracy

theory

By Edu Punay and Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated August 16, 2012 12:00

MANILA, Philippines - Members of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) debunked yesterday Justice Secretary Leila de Limas insinuation that they had conspired with the Supreme Court (SC) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to foil her bid to become the next chief justice. Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. and lawyer Jose Mejia said they only applied the rule when they collegially decided to disqualify De Lima on the same day the JBC voted on the final shortlist of candidates for chief justice because of her two pending disbarment cases with the IBP. As far as I am concerned, as far as the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is concerned, there was no such conspiracy. I am sure about that because I was there during the entire nomination process, Tupas told ANCs Headstart. Her disqualification is obviously painful for her. I hope she gets over this quickly, he added.The congressman had supported the proposal of the Palaces representative in the JBC, Undersecretary for special concerns Michael Frederick Musngi, to suspend the rule and allow De Lima to remain as candidate for the top judicial post.Actually, there was a motion to include De Lima, but it just so happens that majority rules. Those who were against the motion were of the belief that the rule should not be changed in the middle of the contest, he stressed. We the eight members were evenly split. A consensus would have qualified Secretary De Lima, he said.He said the council did not favor incumbent SC justices. In fact, we broke tradition by including three outsiders in the list of nominees. This is the first time it happened in 111 years. Before, all nominees for chief justice came from the Supreme Court, he said.He added that another proof that the JBC did not favor sitting justices was the councils rejection of nominated SC members request to be exempted from certain requirements, including the psycho-neuro test and public interview. Responding to questions, Tupas said that if President Aquino appoints a sitting justice as chief justice, he cannot choose from the same JBC list of eight nominees to fill the position to be vacated by the appointee. That list is only for the position of chief justice. We will have to do a separate nomination process for the position of associate justice that would be vacated, he said. Mejia, who represents academe in the JBC, also denied De Limas allegation.There was no conscious attempt to single her (De Lima) out. It was only incidental that we

needed to apply the rules on each of the candidates, he explained.The SC and the IBP had already denied De Limas allegation. SC spokesperson Ma. Victoria Gleoresty Guerra said she does not want to preempt the SC on the issue of whether or not the Justice secretarys raising her allegation constitutes contempt of court. The JBC disqualified De Lima after the IBP board of governors dismissed her motions seeking summary dismissal of the cases filed against her by lawyers Ricardo Rivera and Agustin Sundiam last year, which were endorsed by the high court only last April. Rivera said De Lima should be disbarred for defying the temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court in November 2011 on the travel ban on former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo. Sundiam, on the other hand, said De Lima should be disbarred because of her stinging statement against former chief justice Renato Corona, whom she branded as a tyrant who holds himself above justice and accountability. Long shortlist Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, meanwhile, called it the JBCs long shortlist, but stressed its now entirely up to the President to make a choice.In the past, the JBC shortlist consisted only of five or six names. Its now the consideration of the President. Wed like to call it the long shortlist. But that will be entirely for the consideration of the President. So lets just wait, Lacierdas deputy Abigail Valte said. Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio topped the list.Also on the list were fellow justices Roberto Abad, Arturo Brion, Teresita de Castro, and Ma. Lourdes Sereno.Former congressman Ronaldo Zamora, Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza and law dean Cesar Villanueva also made it to the shortlist.Lacierda also advised the JBC not to speculate on the Presidents next move. We havent made a move yet, so the JBC should not be saying things at the moment, he said in Filipino. He said the President is unlikely to return the shortlist.Based on the pa st actuations of our President, he has never returned the list yet. But we have not discussed it, he said.If you base it on past actuations, past actions of the President, he has never returned the list, Lacierda said, referring to the appointments of J ustices Sereno, Bienvenido Reyes and Estela Perlas-Bernabe. Lacierda also declined to comment on De Limas case or on whether she could be accommodated in the next vacancy in the high tribunal.We dont know when the next vacancy will be. We dont know yet so I cant say and I would have to defer to Secretary

De Lima if ever her name is again nominated as an associate justice, he told a news briefing. We will leave it with her if and when her name is submitted as a nominee again for the next vacant position in the SC. Delon Porcalla

Carpio tops JBC list; De Lima out By Edu Punay

Manila, Philippines - Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio led eight others in the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC)s final shortlist of candidates for the next chief magistrate while Malacaangs rumored choice Justice Secretary Leila de Lima was disqualified at the last minute.The JBC shortlist was submitted to President Aquino yesterday.Carpio got seven votes from the eight JBC members while three other justices Roberto Abad, Arturo Brion and Ma. Lourdes Sereno got six votes each. Also with six votes each were Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza and former executive secretary and San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora.Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and former Ateneo law dean Cesar Villanueva completed the list with five votes each.

Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., ex-officio member of JBC, revealed that each of the council members was asked to pick eight names from the list of 20 candidates. He said they decided to include in the shortlist those who got at least five votes. Before proceeding with the closed-door voting, the council first disqualified De Lima because of her two pending disbarment cases with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. Those who voted on the shortlist aside from Tupas were Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, Undersecretary for special concerns Michael Frederick Musngi, Regino Hermosisima representing retired justices, lawyer Milagros FernanCayosa from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, retired Court of Appeals Justice Aurora Lagman representing the private sector, lawyer Jose Mejia from academe, and Sen. Francis Escudero who attended the final deliberation despite his fathers death earlier yesterday.Tupas said they decided to implement their rule providing for disqualification of candidates with pending administrative cases. Palace representative Musngi pushed for the suspension of the rule but failed to get support from other members of the council, Tupas said. There was no consensus on the motion to suspend the rules. We did not even put it to a vote. We tried to decide by consensus but we did not get it so Secretary De Lima was disqualified, he said. But Tupas vowed to push for an amendment to the rule. We will take that up at a proper time, but not now because theres no consensus. Probably at a future date, he said.The council, however, moved to reconsider the earlier disqualification of Jardeleza and another candidate, Securities and Exchange Commissioner chair Teresita Herbosa. Jardeleza is facing an administrative case before the SC but no prima facie finding on the complaint has been established yet. The complaint against Herbosa, on the other hand, was already dismissed by the high court last Aug. 1.In reconsidering the cases of Jardeleza and Herbosa, the JBC considered the SC ruling last week that dismissed outright the disbarment complaint filed by citizens anti-crime group member Lauro Vizconde against Carpio. Dismayed, satisfied When sought for comment, the Justice secretary could not hide her dismay over the JBCs decision.I honestly dont know how to react. Why was I singled out? Thats the only question I want to ask them, the visibly disappointed Cabinet secretary told reporters in a chance interview.

But senators lauded the JBCs decision to exclude De Lima from the shortlist, saying it proved that no pressure or wheeling and dealing happened during the selection process. It indicates that hindi bina-braso, walang pwersahan at hinayaan ang JBC na magpasya ayon sa kanilang patakaran at reglamento (Obviously, it indicates that there was no arm twisting or pressure and the JBC was left to decide based on its rules and regulations), Sen. Francis Pangilinan, a former JBC member, said. The more names there are, the better, he said. We will have to respect the rules of the JBC and their decision. That is how i t goes. Even during my time, when there are similar cases, we try to resolve the issues, the senator said. The JBC has spoken. So everybody should respect them, and eventually, we should also respect the decision of the President who will choose from the list of eight recommendees, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said.Lacson said the disqualification of De Lima meant that the JBC refused to be influenced by Malacaang or that the Palace made no effort to pressure the JBC. The 20 candidates completed a two-month selection process, which included psychological test, oral interview and examination of assets. The interviews were aired live on TV. The next chief justice will replace Renato Corona, who was removed from office by the Senate impeachment court which found him guilty of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for his failure to declare $2.4 million and P80 million in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth.The appointment should be made within 90 days from Coronas ouster last May 29.The Constitution requires the chief justice to be at least 40 years old, must have practiced law or served as judge for 15 years, and with proven competence, integrity, probity and independence. Carpio, in his interview last July 26, denied having a hand in the impeachment of Corona. During his interview by the JBC, the 62-year-old magistrate was also asked about his current association with the law firm he founded and with his law fraternity.He said he has consistently inhibited from all cases handled by the Carpio Villaraza Cruz Marcelo & Angangco firm that reached the high court. He also said he had voted for the dismissal of a fraternity brother in UP Sigma Rho as justice of the Court of Appeals.Carpio said he had exhibited his independence early on by voting against the peoples initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution in 2006 that was supported by the administration of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who appointed him to the SC in October 2001.

Abad, 68, admitted he was unhappy with case congestion and delay in our courts so he initiated new guidelines for litigation now being pilot-tested in Quezon City courts where there is no more direct examination, only affidavits.Brion, on the other hand, said he would espouse arbitration and mediation mechanisms even at the level of the high court in order to immediately resolve cases and declog the courts docket. Sereno, President Aquinos first appointee to the high court in 2010, proposed during her interview a written manual or software that would help the court identify possible conflicts in decisions. The 62-year-old Jardeleza, for his part, faced intense grilling for his being a former executive and lawyer of San Miguel Corp. He said he lawyered for the corporation but not for the firms former chair, Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., Aquinos uncle, in the coco levy fund case. Still, the Cabinet official vowed to inhibit in SMC cases in the SC if appointed chief justice.Zamora, who had been in the executive and legislative branches, said in his interview that the budget of the judiciary should be doubled in the next two to three years to help it function more effectively and ultimately improve the dispensation of justice in the country. De Castro, the third most senior justice of the high court, said she plans to prioritize improvement of case adjudication if appointed chief justice. I am committed to pursue reforms in the judiciary including access to justice, enhancing institutional integrity, the 63-year-old magistrate told the JBC. She chaired the special division of the Sandiganbayan that convicted deposed President Joseph Estrada of plunder in 2007.Villanueva, who hold a masters of law degree from Harvard University in the US, said he wants to unite the SC, create a road map for the judiciary and ease case loads of judges. With Christina Mendez