As the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) begins its search for candidates as the next chief justice of the Supreme Court, a number of names are being floated around and have been nominated, some qualified, others, we are not really sure.
Whether we admit or not, the reputation of the Supreme Court as the highest court of the land has been severely tainted and tarnished. For so long a time, the High Tribunal has been cloaked in mystery, its justices held in high esteem by the legal profession and the citizens in general. These are men and women in robes who compose the court of last resort, which has the final say on what is just and unjust, what is legal and what is not, what is constitutional and what is unconstitutional.
But just like anyone of us, they are men and women who can commit mistakes, indiscretions. They are not gods but mere mortals. Justice is blind but justices can see. As one writer pointed it out, if we were to follow strictly to the letter the qualifications required of a justice of the Supreme Court, then no person will be qualified. According to Art. 8, Sec. 7(3) of the 1987 Constitution, a member of the judiciary must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence. Much more, I think, is required of the chief justice. But the people have to believe in an institution that will serve the ends of justice one way or the other, regardless of sex, race, creed, or status in life of the litigants. It is the perception of a Supreme Court that is fair and just, one with integrity and independence that makes the people believe in the justice system, to the rule of law, rather than resort to anarchy or settle scores among themselves.
The impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona, the first in the country’s history, has undermined the integrity and independence of the highest court of the land, regardless of whether or not Corona is guilty as charged.
This brings us to the choice of the next chief justice. The burden is on President Aquino and the JBC to restore what was lost, otherwise this bastion of democracy will be destroyed beyond repair.
Corona had earned the ire of the President because of his refusal to step down despite of being accused of being a midnight appointee, a puppet of former President Gloria Arroyo. One thing led to the other and he was impeached because of his failure to disclose certain items in his statement of assets, liabilities and networth (SALN). Despite the fact that the impeachment proceeding was sui generis or on a class of its own, the rules of evidence were supposed to have been in operation. But only a few of our senators are lawyers and some, including Senator Lito Lapid, do not care whether there was enough admissible evidence to convict him. What was supposed to be a political-legal process became a purely political exercise and the rest is history.
The President then has to make sure that the choice of the next chief justice has to be apolitical. He or she has to be one chosen on the basis of merit, one who has the respect of the legal profession and the citizenry based on his or her experience and/or personal profile. The next chief justice cannot be one chosen based on his or her closeness to the President, otherwise, Corona’s impeachment would be an exercise in futility.
If we are to restore the people’s faith in the judicial system and the rule of law, then the choice of the next chief justice will not be that easy.
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