'JBC should ask difficult questions to CJ nominees'

MANILA, Philippines - Senator Francis Pangilinan said yesterday that the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) must be ready to ask chief justice candidates difficult questions, including their ability to be independent from the administration.

Pangilinan, who used to be a member of the JBC and has worked for the opening of JBC deliberations to media coverage, said that “transparency will make the process more accountable” and the acts of the JBC members less prone to abuse.

“It will also allow the public to see for themselves how the nominees respond to probing questions. I for one would like to know how nominees who are closely identified with the President would respond to questions regarding doubts as to their independence,” Pangilinan said.

“Whether they answer the questions convincingly or not, then the public will be better aware of their fitness. The public has the right to know about this and other critical issues,” he added.

This particular issue is among the most crucial in the selection of the country’s next chief justice because of the circumstances that led to the vacancy of the position.

Former chief justice Renato Corona was removed from office through an impeachment trial conducted by the Senate, and among the issues raised against him were his alleged close ties to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which cast doubts about his independence as the head of the judiciary.

Corona, prior to his removal from office, alleged that the most senior associate justice of the Supreme Court, Antonio Carpio, was bent on ousting him so that he could take over as chief justice.

With President Aquino openly advocating for the removal of Corona, the statements of Corona against Carpio raised similar concerns about the ability of Carpio to be independent of the administration.

Several other officials close to the President, such as Justice secretary Leila de Lima and Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Kim Henares, have also been nominated for the chief justice post.

According to Pangilinan, the independence of the judiciary is just one of the crucial issues that candidates for the next chief justice must address before the JBC.

He said that the candidates must also lay out their plans to modernize the judiciary, to fill up the 25 percent vacancies in the trial courts as far as judges are concerned and speed up the disposition of cases.