For the first time, the interview of the 20 nominees to the position of chief justice of the Supreme Court was aired live on television.
For the moment, we fancy ourselves as being virtual members of the Judicial and Bar Council, a constitutional body tasked with the selection of the short list to be submitted to the President.
The 1987 Constitution (Sections 8 and 9) provides: (8) a Judicial and Bar Council is hereby created under the supervision of the Supreme Court composed of the Chief Justice as ex officio chairman, the Secretary of Justice, and a representative of the Congress as ex officio members, a representative of the Integrated Bar, a professor of law, a retired member of the Supreme Court, and a representative of the private sector. (9)The members of the Supreme Court and judges of lower courts shall be appointed by the President from a list of at least three nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council for every vacancy. Such appointment need no confirmation. For the lower courts, the President shall issue the appointments within 90 days from the submission of the list.
From the quoted provisions, it is clear that the screening of the CJ hopefuls is the task of the JBC.
However after the impeachment, the thrust towards transparency makes it imperative that the people can have a glimpse of those who will be the dispenser of justice, ultimate arbiter of legal controversies, and whose decisions become part of the law of the land.
From the pronouncements of the nominees, there is a clear divide between “insider” and “outsider”, affirming the fact that the SC Justices have developed their own culture and some sort of Old Boy’s Club.
That is expected, as each of the Justice is a league of his/her own, bringing into the table his/her own sense of right and wrong, the law, and how justice should prevail.
After listening to all the nominees, my vote would be for Maria Lourdes Sereno, as she embodies a woman of substance, is God- fearing, and has a proven track record of professional competence.
Who is your bet?
