MANILA, Philippines—A lawyer has come out to oppose the nomination to the Supreme Court of Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Diosdado Peralta, supposedly the frontrunner to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Ruben Reyes.

Lawyer Ernesto B. Francisco told the Judicial and Bar Council in a letter dated December 15 that Peralta was "not morally fit'' to sit on the highest court of the land for being "somebody who fixes cases for litigants and lawyers.''

Francisco said the JBC should consider Peralta's past transactions with his (Francisco’s) former law firm, Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz or ACCRA, and its prime client, Marcos crony Eduardo "Danding'' Cojuangco.

Francisco said that during his early years with ACCRA, he had the impression that Peralta was "offering his services to fix cases,'' whether as city prosecutor of Manila or as a regional trial court judge, and that the Sandiganbayan justice had "helped'' the law firm in a number of cases.

Francisco first came out to oppose Peralta's appointment as Ombudsman in 2005 but the latter withdrew. He claimed that he did not oppose Peralta's appointment to the Sandiganbayan because it was a "collegial body where he could not do so much harm.''

Among the controversial decisions handed down by Peralta was his reversal of the graft and robbery-with-extortion case against former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez and the ruling allowing Cojuangco's takeover of 20 percent of San Miguel Corp. shares being contested by government.

Francisco said that due to the close ties between Peralta and ACCRA (which was closely linked to Cojuangco, having helped the crony establish the coco levy firms), "Peralta should have had the decency of inhibiting himself from the case of Cojuangco.''

Francisco said he has come out to ask the JBC to recall the nomination of Peralta "considering the political situation in the country and the state of the judiciary today.''