Retired CJ sees Bernabe, Leonen as next possible ponente in VP poll protest

Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and Associate Justice Estela Perlas Bernabe. Photos from Supreme Court of the Philippines website

MANILA, Philippines — If Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa will be replaced as ponente or member-in-charge in the ongoing poll protest of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo, who should be the replacement?

Retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban believes it should be either Associate Justice Marvic Leonen or Associate Justice Estela Perlas Bernabe.

“Will he be changed? The rule of the court is this—a new ponente or member-in-charge will be chosen by the majority,” Panganiban said in an interview over ANC on Thursday.

“In my mind, I’ll be revealing a little secret, I think it should be Leonen or Bernabe… because to my knowledge, and I have to be very candid about this, they were the ones who pushed for this resolution to have comments first,” he added.

Caguioa was the one who submitted the committee report on the result of the revision of ballots from three pilot provinces chosen by Marcos to the Supreme Court justices last September 9.

Panganiban explained that the member-in-charge is the one “who studies minutely the cases and presents to the other justices what he thinks.”

The retired Chief Justice believes that Caguioa “should have asked for comments first” on this report of the committee.

The Presidential Electoral Tribunal did not rule on the committee report and instead decided to allow the release of the report to the two parties.

Caguioa and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio dissented from the majority in allowing the release of the report.

Sources said that both Caguioa and Carpio dissented as they called for the dismissal of the case for Marcos’ failure to make substantial recovery in the recount of ballots from the three pilot provinces.  /muf