SC justice who declined CJ nomination chairs JBC

MANILA, Philippines - Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, one of the three Sandiganbayan justices who convicted President Joseph Estrada of plunder in 2007, heads the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) deliberations for the chief justice post.

Peralta, fifth in seniority among the 14 SC justices, has declined his nomination for the top judicial post.

Last Thursday, the SC named Peralta its representative in the JBC following the nomination of acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and his inhibition as JBC chairman.

Since three next most senior justices – Presbitero Velasco Jr., Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and Arturo Brion – have also accepted their nomination, Peralta is left as the only senior justice qualified to head the JBC.

Peralta was appointed to the JBC after the SC dismissed taxpayer Famela Dulay’s petition that only the Chief Justice should head the JBC.

The SC said it should not be deprived of representation in the selection process in the absence of Carpio.

“The most senior justice of this Court, who is not an applicant for the position of chief justice should participate in the deliberations for the selection of nominees for the said vacant post and preside over proceedings in the absence of the constitutionally named ex-officio chairman,” the SC said.

The SC said it is the duty of the JBC under the Constitution to recommend appointees to the judiciary even in the absence of an ex-officio chairman.

“Although it would be preferable if the membership of the JBC is complete, the JBC can still operate to perform its mandated task of submitting the list of nominees to the President even if the constitutionally named ex-officio chairman does not sit in the JBC,” the SC said.

Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin will also sit in the JBC as consultant in place of Justice Leonardo-de Castro, the second most senior justice who is nominated for chief justice.

Bersamin has also declined his nomination.

When Carpio inhibited himself from the JBC proceedings on the chief justice post, retired SC justice Regino Hermosisima was elected as acting JBC chairman.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, ex-officio vice chairman of JBC, also inhibited from the proceedings after accepting her nomination for chief justice.

Members of the JBC left for deliberations for the chief justice post are: Senate justice committee chairman Sen. Francis Escudero, House justice committee chairman Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., lawyer. Milagros Fernan-Cayosa from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, lawyer Jose Mejia from academe, and retired Court of Appeals justice Aurora Lagman from the private sector.

22 vying for top post

Twenty-two candidates are now vying for chief justice after the JBC has disqualified a judge with a past administrative case and a lawyer above 70 years old.

The JBC yesterday trimmed down candidates for chief justice to an initial list of 22.

Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Ma. Amelia Tria-Infante was fined P11,000 for that administrative case, said JBC’s Mejia.

Lawyer Ferdinand Jose Pijao was already above the mandatory retirement age of 70 for justices, he added.

JBC members also took note of pending complaints against two other nominees – disbarment against Secretary De Lima and administrative case against Commission on Elections Commissioner Rene Sarmiento. However, the JBC decided not to disqualify them yet.

Tupas Jr., another member of JBC, said they would give the two until the day of their voting for the shortlist on July 30 for resolution of the complaints against them.

“If in case the cases are not dismissed by then, we will not consider them,” he said.

The JBC also affirmed the decision to disqualify two applicants for chief justice – a nurse named Jocelyn Esquivel and dismissed Malabon Regional Trial Court judge Florentino Floro Jr.

The list of the 22 candidates will be published in The STAR on Monday.

Mejia said they would then accept comments from the public in support or against any of the candidates within 10 days or until July 19.

The JBC will then set oral interview of bets starting July 24 before deliberating and voting on a shortlist to be submitted to President Aquino by end of this month.

Topping the list are acting Chief Justice Carpio and five other justices of the high court: Velasco Jr., De Castro, Brion, Roberto Abad and Ma. Lourdes Sereno.

Meanwhile, Tupas defended yesterday the eight-member composition of the JBC.

In his petition in the SC last Monday, former solicitor general Frank Chavez questioned why the Senate and House of Representatives have separate representatives in the JBC when the Constitution requires only “a representative of the Congress.”

However, Tupas said the framers of the Constitution committed an “oversight and an error” when they indicated that Congress should only send one representative to the JBC.

“They forgot to change the phraseology,” he said.

“We will defend the one vote for the House of Representatives... I have discussed this with members of the House and they told me it was really an oversight on the part of the framers of the Constitution.”

They would seek before the SC a 10-day extension for their deadline to file comment to the petition earlier set on Monday, Tupas said.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines will set its own criteria and standards for the selection of chief justice.

IBP national president Roan Libarios said they would come up with the criteria after consulting legal luminaries, retired SC and appellate court justices, as well as notable deans of law schools in a forum set on July 16 in Pasig.

“This is the first time the IBP will hold a high-level forum to define the criteria to guide the JBC and the press in the choice of the next chief justice,” he said.

Libarios said IBP officials have decided to come up with such criteria due to the “need to select the best man or woman for the job (of chief justice).”

“We need to hear the voices of the stakeholders,” he said.

Age no issue

At Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said naming a young lawyer chief justice should not be an issue as long as he or she meets the minimum constitutional requirement.

 “It does not require you to be near retirement before you can become chief justice,” he said.

“So let’s change our perspective on the idea that someone should be near retirement before he is fit to serve as chief justice.”

Lacierda said it does not matter whether the nominee is in his 50s. In the US, Chief Justice John Roberts is 57 years old and will serve for his entire life, he added.

Lacierda said Roberts was named Chief Justice when he was 50 years old.     –   With Delon Porcalla