Corona named to Supreme Court

President Arroyo appointed to the Supreme Court yesterday her former chief of staff Renato Corona and Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Ma. Alicia Marti-nez.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao made the announcement last night, noting that both appointees were at the top of the 11 nominees named by the Judicial Bar Council (JBC).

Tiglao said Corona would be appointed to the seat vacated by Justice Bernardo Pardo who retired last Feb. 11, while Martinez would fill the seat of Justice Arturo Buena who retired on March 25.

Tiglao made the announcement as the opposition declared reservations on the appointment of Corona which, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel said, would "politicize" the high court.

But Tiglao said the President made the selection based based on the list submitted by the JBC, which is legally mandated to make the recommendation.

"The report of the JBC is that Rene Corona has one of the highest votes. How would you argue with the JBC which is the body tasked with evaluating these nominees?" Tiglao told reporters in a briefing.

Tiglao was reacting to the opposition of Pimentel and the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) which claimed Corona’s appointment "would erode public trust" in the high court.

"She decided on the basis of the report of the JBC," he said, noting that the complaints against Corona had already been junked by the JBC. "If you remember, (the complaints) didn’t go very far."

He was referring to the opposition filed by Corona’s uncle-in-law Jose Ma. Basa, who is locked in a corporate battle with Corona’s wife Cristina Roco.

Corona and Martinez are among the 11 nominees short-listed for the high court seat vacated by Pardo and Buena.

Corona was personally nominated by Pardo last September, five months before he retired at the age of 70.

Other top contenders for the vacancies were Court of Appeals Justices Ruben Reyes, Cancio Garcia and Romeo Callejo Sr., former Commission on Elections chairwoman Harriette Demetriou, and Loreto Ata, Ruben Balane and Rogelio Vinluan.

The JBC is composed of representatives from the academe, Congress, the Cabinet, lawyers’ groups and retired members of the judiciary.

Those who voted for Corona were Chief Justice and JBC chairman Hilario Davide Jr., Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, court administrator Presbitero Velasco, and ex-SC Justice Regino Hermosisima, former UST law school dean Amado Dimayuga, lawyer Teresita Cruz-Sison and Judge Alfredo Marigonen and Senators Francis Pangilinan and Rene Cayetano.

The votes of Pangilinan and Cayetano are considered as one vote while the two other JBC members are Senior Justices Josue Bellosillo and Jose Melo who are non-voting members.