Drilon, Miriam in JBC list for chief justice post
Two senators who sat as judges in the impeachment trial of former chief justice Renato Corona and six others are now being considered for the top Supreme Court (SC) post.
Senators Franklin Drilon and Miriam Defensor-Santiago were nominated for the chief justice post in separate recommendations received by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) yesterday.
Drilon, who was earlier reported to be among those being eyed by President Aquino as possible replacement of Corona, was nominated through a letter from lawyer Nicasio Tan.
The 66-year-old senator is the vice chair of the ruling Liberal Party and served as secretary of Justice during the administration of the President’s late mother, former President Cory Aquino.
Drilon already said he was not interested in the post and would rather stay in the Senate.
Santiago, a former trial court judge, professor of constitutional and international laws and judge of the International Criminal Court, was nominated by Victor del Rosario, who cited her “intellectual prowess, conscientious scholarship and, most of all, her unassailable character (that) will inspire the trust, confidence, and respect of the Bar, the Bench and the general public.”
Like Drilon, Santiago also served in the Cabinet of former president Aquino as commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration in 1988 and as secretary of Agriculture from 1989 to 1991.
But unlike Drilon, who was among the 20 senator-judges who voted for conviction, Santiago voted to acquit Corona.
Apart from the two, six others were added to the initial list of JBC for the chief justice post: former ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, constitutionalist and Ateneo law dean emeritus Fr. Joaquin Bernas, Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Court of Appeals Justice Vicente Veloso and University of Perpetual Help System law dean Ed Vincent Albano.
Bernas and Romualdo, however, are expected to be disqualified, since they are already past 70 years old, the retirement age of an SC justice.
As of yesterday, the JBC has listed a total of 65 names, with 36 of them yet to accept or decline their nomination.
A total of 13 aspirants have already accepted their nomination: SC Justices Arturo Brion and Roberto Abad, former UP law dean Raul Pangalangan, De La Salle University law founding dean Jose Manuel Diokno, former Ateneo law dean Cesar Villanueva, elections commissioner Rene Sarmiento, retired judge Manuel Siayngco Jr., former executive secretary Ronaldo Zamora and lawyers Katrina Legarda, Soledad Cagampang-De Castro, Rafael Morales, Vicente Velasquez and Ferdinand Jose Pijao.
On the other hand, 14 nominees had rejected their nomination: SC Justices Mariano del Castillo, Jose Mendoza, Bienvenido Reyes and Estela PerlasBernabe; Court of Appeals Justices Magdangal de Leon and Gabriel Ingles and retired CA presiding Justice Andres Reyes, 2010 presidential candidate Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Integrated Bar of the Philippines national president Roan Libarios, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Laguna Assistant State Prosecutor Cesar Sasondoncillo, former senator Rene Saguisag and lawyers Pedro Aquino and Rodolfo Robles.
A nurse named Jocelyn Esquivel and dismissed judge Florentino Floro were the applicants so far.
Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Escudero is pushing for the new chief justice to possibly come from Mindanao.
“It is time that a chief justice could also come from Mindanao. In the long history of the Supreme Court, we still do not have a chief justice from the south,” Escudero told reporters on a recent visit to Davao City.
Escudero, ex-officio member of the JBC, explained that Mindanao should also be represented in the High Tribunal.
However, the senator was also quick to point out that being Mindanaoan is not actually an edge over other candidates as every nominee should undergo the stringent selection process.
“Everything should abide by the Constitution. And it is also called upon the nominees that no waiver, no vote. They must submit their waiver on their bank accounts before they could get any vote,” he stressed.
Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio actually hails from Davao City and spent his grade school and high school years there before moving to Manila for college.
Earlier, President Aquino said he would endorse whomever the JBC would eventually recommend next month.
“That is right. The President could not endorse somebody outside of who the JBC would recommend. That is the law,” Escudero agreed.
The senator said there are already over 50 nominees to the post but only few have so far accepted their nomination.
Escudero said the JBC is expected to go over the list of nominees after the deadline on July 2.
“And then, we shall submit to the President our recommendation by end of July and hopefully the President would come up with a decision by Aug. 27,” he added.