Still no CJ shortlist as rains delay JBC voting

MANILA, Philippines - The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has reset for the fourth time its voting on the shortlist of candidates for chief justice, this time due to floods caused by relentless rains over the past days.

Lawyer Jose Mejia, JBC member representing academe, said yesterday they have not yet set a new date for the voting. The council’s next regular meeting would be held on Monday.

The Supreme Court (SC) has also suspended its session and hearings of all lower courts in Metro Manila in the past two days due to inclement weather. Work in the judiciary resumes today.

The JBC first set the voting on the shortlist last July 30 but opted to defer its meeting until Aug. 2 and await an SC final ruling on the constitutionality of its eight-member composition being questioned by former solicitor general Frank Chavez.

The SC ruled last July 17 that there should only be seven members of the council with just one representative from Congress as provided for in Article VIII Section 8(1) of the Constitution. But after holding oral arguments, the high court last Aug. 3 suspended the implementation of its order pending resolution of Congress’ appeal.

The JBC then reset the voting to Aug. 6, but Sen. Francis Escudero asked for more time to examine the qualifications of the 20 candidates since he was not able to join the oral interviews because of the SC ruling.

Mejia explained that they would first decide on the qualification of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima under Section 5 Rule 4 of the Rules of the JBC, which provides for automatic disqualification of aspirants with pending criminal or administrative cases.

De Lima, who is said to be one of the top choices of President Aquino for the chief justice post, has two pending disbarment cases with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines filed by lawyers Agustin Sundiam and Ricardo Rivera, Fernando Perito and Nephtali Aliposa last year.

Three other candidates also have pending cases: Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, Securities and Exchange Commission chair Teresita Herbosa and Presidential Commission on Good Governance chair Andres Bautista.

De Lima asked the JBC in a letter last week to reconsider its application of the rule, insisting that the disbarment complaints against her were merely meant to harass her.

Ironically, she had opposed a proposal from JBC member and Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. in February last year for changes in the rule to accommodate more qualified bets for judicial posts.

In her three-page comment then, she said the proposed amendment would “seriously preempt” the power, jurisdiction, and judgment of the adjudicatory official, body or tribunal tasked to determine the guilt or innocence of the candidate.

“The chief justice sits as ex-officio [JBC] chairman, while the Court Administrator serves as consultant of the JBC. A determination by these officials as part of the council will unnecessarily send a signal to any such official or body as to how the pending criminal or administrative case should be adjudicated,” De Lima explained.

“It is not far-fetched that the official or body would feel influenced or even compelled to adopt the determination made by the council as a simple matter of courtesy or deference, considering the participation of the highest official of the judiciary in the council’s deliberation and determination of the nature of the pending charges,” she added.