President Noy's first Supreme Court appointee

Every change in government brings with it euphoria and inconceivable energy. At the end of the day, expectations soar high (sometimes unrealistic) but nevertheless, we need such experiences to wake us up to reality, to add more vigor to our daily grind, and to feed our spirit as we look forward to a better tomorrow.

If P-Noy’s cabinet and other appointees adhere to the mandate he has emphatically articulated, then perhaps, there is really a chance that this country can be great again.

Talking about presidential appointees at this point in time brings to mind the lone vacancy in the Supreme Court, waiting for the very first Supreme Court appointee of our new president.

This vacancy in the Supreme Court has been announced for application and nomination by the Judicial and Bar Council. In fact, the public interview by JBC Members of twenty-eight aspirants has been scheduled starting today. Those who have seen the previous interviews of high court aspirants, like the representatives of “Supreme Court Appointments Watch” (an entity monitoring nominations and appointments to the SC) and Newsbreak say the so-called public interviews do not delve into the integrity, character and reputation of the aspirants. The process, according to those who have watched the interview of several appointees to the high court, is a far cry from the proceedings in the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate where nominees for the Supreme Court are grilled on their public and private lives.

Of the 28 aspirants, 14 are Court of Appeals members with only four of them senior justices. Two aspirants are from the Sandiganbayan while two are from the Court of Tax Appeals – both trial courts of limited jurisdiction. The rest are from the academe, the private practice of law and the Commission on Elections. Several of them, moved by ambition to join the highest court of the land, are undistinguished. Classifying these twenty-eight nominees, one is reminded of the classification of the several aspirants for president by a colorful Manila Mayor several years ago as – presidential timbers, driftwoods and toothpicks.

Louis M. Kohlmeier, author of the book, God Save the United States and this Honorable Court said, “the conscience of the United States is in its Constitution and the keeper of its conscience is the Supreme Court of the United States.”

But to those who read Marites Dañguilan Vitug’s, Shadow of Doubt – Probing the Supreme Court, our own Supreme Court can hardly be considered the keeper of the nation’s conscience. Dañguilan’s book is like Jeffrey Toobin’s, The Nine – Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court on the personalities of the justices of the U.S. high court and the full behind-the-scenes stories on landmark cases decided by the court.

Judicial reform is one of the campaign promises of President Noynoy Aquino. Justice is administered by members of the judiciary from the trial courts to the appellate courts and the Supreme Court. In fact, members of the judiciary have been described by the high court as “the visible representation of the law.” Thus, no matter how well-structured is our judiciary, no matter how good are our substantive and procedural laws, and no matter how high are the salaries, allowances and retirement benefits of our judges and justices – it is still the INTEGRITY, COMPETENCE, INDEPENDENCE AND PROBITY of the members of the judiciary that count.

The key to an improved judicial system, which P-Noy promised, is an efficient and rigid screening process by the Judicial and Bar Council of applicants for the judiciary, and of course, a judicious selection by Malacañang of the best among the nominees submitted by the JBC. More important than the administrative supervision by the Office of the Court Administrator of members of the judiciary below the Supreme Court and the disciplining by the court of errant judges – is a rigid screening process for nomination by the JBC, which is the first step for entry to the judiciary.

Many in the legal and business communities are aghast by the JBC nomination and appointment by previous presidents of applicants so notorious that even from afar they smell like garbage. These characters, knowledgeable sources say, were nominated by the JBC and appointed by Malacañang at the behest of influential politicians, church prelates, business titans and presidential kins.

President Noynoy Aquino’s appointee to the Supreme Court this year will be his first, among his four succeeding appointees in 2011, 2014 and 2016 before his term ends on June 30, 2016. Thus, as proof of his commitment to institute judicial reforms, his appointees to the judiciary, starting with the highest court of the land should be “the best and the brightest” among the JBC nominees who must not include undistinguished aspirants.

When President Corazon C. Aquino assumed the presidency on February 25, 1986, among her first priorities was a new Supreme Court respected and trusted by the Filipino people. Her first appointees were: Claudio Teehankee, Vicente Abad Santos, Jose Feria, Pedro Yap, Marcelo Fernan, Andres Narvasa, Ameurfina Herrera, Nestor Alampay, Hugo Gutierrez, Isagani Cruz and Edgardo Paras. Five of the appointees, all legal heavyweights, were “outsiders” drawn from the private sector. The first batch of appointees was followed by equally outstanding and brilliant legal luminaries namely Florentino Feliciano, Teodoro Padilla, Florenz Regalado and Irene Cortez, all drawn from the private sector.

Public attention will be focused on P-Noy’s first appointee to the Supreme Court. Whoever he is, he must not only be the best and the brightest among the nominees but more importantly someone who can be instrumental in restoring the people’s faith particularly in the judicial system and the government as a whole.

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We’re never ready to say goodbye to someone who we hold dear. I know that Joanne Rae Ramirez (People Asia Magazine, Editor and Philippine Star, Writer) is going through a difficult time right now. Her Filipino-American father, Frank Mayor who was 78 years old succumbed to pancreatic cancer two weeks ago. True to his wishes his body was brought back to his homeland, the Philippines. Joanne, here is a stanza written by my dad that reminds me of your father’s longing:

My feet have wandered many ways and roamed through fields afar,

But my yearning heart keeps turning, back to where you are;

And, someday, when the trees are green and heaven’s robed in blue,

I’ll come back from my roaming, come back to you!

Maximo V. Soliven