Palace: What midnight appointments?

Malacañang said yesterday that President Arroyo’s designation of 18 justices to the Court of Appeals (CA) cannot be considered as "midnight" appointments since she submitted them before the election-related ban on her appointing power took effect.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye told Radio Mindanao Network yesterday that there was nothing irregular in Mrs. Arroyo’s March 9 appointments of the new appellate court justices.

"This was transmitted by our President on time," he said. "It was done at a proper place at a proper time. This was studied very well and we can see that the names (of the appointees) were all qualified."

One of the 18 new CA justices appointed by the President is Teresita Dy-Liacco Flores, a former commissioner of the Commission on Elections.

The appointments were signed on March 9 by the President and transmitted by the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel to Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. on March 10. The Office of the Supreme Court’s Clerk of Court en banc received the list on March 11, the date when the election-related ban on appointments made by the President is supposed to take effect.

The new appointees, all former regional trial court judges, are Flores, Isaias Dicdican, Santiago Rañada Jr., Arcangelita Romilla Lontok, Lucento Tagle, Japar Dimaampao, Celia Librea-Leagogo, Monina Arevalo Zenarosa, Pampio Abarintos, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Mariflor Punzalan Castillo, Arturo Tayag, Sesinando Villon, Vicente Yap, Ramon Bato Jr., Romulo Borja, Edgardo Camello and Rodrigo Lim Jr.

There are currently 51 justices in the appellate court and the new appointments complete the roster as provided for under Republic Act 8246, which created additional divisions in the CA and increased the number of justices to 69.

Though he pointed out that Mrs. Arroyo met the deadline in the appointments of the new CA justices, Bunye failed to say if the Palace has decided to complete the appointment of Sandiganbayan Justice Minita Chico-Nazario to the lone vacancy in the Supreme Court.

The President signed Nazario’s appointment papers last Feb. 10 but the justice has yet to be sworn into office. Nazario was supposed to replace SC Justice Josue Bellosillo, who retired on Nov. 13 last year.

Bunye earlier said the 90-day period in which Nazario should assume her post at the SC is "not mandatory but merely directory," citing a precedent when no justice was selected to fill in a vacancy at the appellate court within the required period.

"At the end, this was resolved because after that the President appointed one," he said, but admitted he could not recall the specific justice involved.

Mrs. Arroyo had explained the delay in Nazario’s appointment to the SC was due to the clamor for the Sandiganbayan justice to complete the ongoing plunder trial of deposed President Joseph Estrada.

Bunye said that despite the lapse of the 90-day period, he believes "the Supreme Court has the quorum and can still function without this new appointment."

He added that Nazario’s appointment was merely "on hold" for now.