Screening the JBC

Guarding the Guardians: The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is primarily tasked to recommend appointees to the Judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman. It is composed of 7 members with the Chief Justice as ex-officio Chairman, the Secretary of Justice and a representative of the Congress as ex-officio members (note: this is another section of the Constitution that needs to be amended to reflect the bicameral structure of Congress), a representative of the Integrated Bar, a professor of law, a retired member of the Supreme Court and a representative of the private sector. An innovation introduced by the 1987 Constitution, the JBC was envisioned to combat the political horse trading that normally occurred in the Commission on Appointments. Its main objective was to insulate, as much as possible, appointments to the Judiciary from outside interference.

So how has the JBC fared in its more than 20 years of existence? Two non governmental watchdogs — Supreme Court Appointments Watch (“SCAW”) and Bantay Korte Suprema — commented that, “the JBC’s ability to fulfill its mandate has been questioned by many because of weaknesses in its composition and processes.” These groups claim that “on trial is the JBC’s ability to efficiently, transparently and accountably perform its duties”. One of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, Fr. Joaquin Bernas, even commented that perhaps we are better off if we return the vetting function to the Commission on Appointments “for at least the politicking is out in the open.”

In fairness to the JBC however, it has over the years instituted certain reforms to increase transparency in its proceedings. For one, it has opened to the public the interviews of prospective nominees. Recently, during the deliberations on the shortlist for the vacancies created by the retirement of Justices Alice Martinez and Dante Tinga, the JBC disclosed the actual votes of its members, similar to the practice in the Supreme Court.

To strengthen the independence and effectivity of the JBC, the following suggestions have been made:

1. Limit JBC regular members to one term — With a chance for reappointment, a member may curry the favor of the appointing power by listening to whispers coming from the Palace. A one term member will hopefully have deaf ears.

2. Limit shortlist to 3 members — While the Constitution provides that the JBC must submit at least 3 names for every vacancy, the JBC should, as a matter of practice, only submit 3 names. This is in line with the JBC’s main function to properly screen the nominees and provide a check to the discretion of the appointing power.

3. JBC should resist pressure to submit a revised shortlist — It has been reported in the past that the President has returned a short list to the JBC because the latter did not contain the name of the person he wanted to appoint. The JBC obliged and submitted a revised list. In the future, the JBC should resist such moves as these would compromise its integrity and independence.

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Lower taxes: Two centavos go to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Albay Governor Joey Salceda for advocating the lowering of income tax rates. This may seem counter intuitive particularly given the growing budget deficit but I believe this move would attract more investments, spur consumer spending, encourage domestic savings, and actually lead to higher tax collections. Figures show that close to 90% of the taxes collected come from salaried individuals with a measly 10% contributed by self employed entrepreneurs. I surmise that the low payments are due to the high rates coupled with an ingrained habit on the part of the self employed to misdeclare their income. And if discovered by the BIR, to just use the “savings” generated from misdeclaration to fix the problem. Lowering the tax rates will take away such “savings” and make a tax payer think twice on whether to misdeclare their income in the first place.

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Turning words into action: One centavo goes to Vice President Noli de Castro and his campaign team for crafting an all encompassing 10-point blueprint for nation building. I was particularly struck by the 10th point which advocates the following:

“The promotion of a culture that encourages excellence instead of okay lang, a sense of urgency instead of mamaya na, ako mismo instead of kayo na lang and lalaban ako instead of ayaw ko na.”

Sounds like a “best of” collection from the other campaigns. Now the challenge is how to convert the clever rhetoric to concrete action.

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Resign first run later: One centavo goes to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for not using the resources of the governorship to campaign for a higher office, but at the same time “continuing to work toward affecting positive change as a citizen without a title.”

I am not a fan of Governor Palin but I liked the way she arrived at the decision to resign. She supposedly polled the most important people in her life — her kids, where the count was unanimous. In response to the question, “Hey, you want me to make a positive difference and fight for all our children’s future from outside the governor’s office?” The kids voted four yeses and one “Hell, yeah!” and the “Hell, yeah’ sealed it.”

I remember Chief Justice Rey Puno saying a few months back that he would need to consult with his grandchildren regarding his future plans. I wonder how the grandchildren will respond when they are asked a similar question?

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