New Solicitor General: Cases to be decided based on public good

Incoming Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza. INQUIRER PHOTO

Incoming Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza on Wednesday sought to allay concerns of coconut farmers over his appointment as the new lawyer for the government, saying any decision he will make on cases would be based on what’s good for the public interest.

Jardeleza said he did not want to say outright that he would not deviate from his predecessor’s position that the government should distribute to farmers the Hacienda Luisita estate, owned by the President Benigno Aquino III’s family, because he had not yet studied the matter or read the case records.

Studying the records is something a good lawyer has to do before taking a stand, said Jardeleza, a bar topnotcher.

He also said there was no reason to worry that his background as a former counsel of San Miguel Corp., which is chaired by Mr. Aquino’s uncle Eduardo Cojuangco, would color his future actions.

Farmers and militant groups feared that Jardeleza’s appointment may mean that the Office of the Solicitor General’s position favoring the distribution of the sugar estate would be overturned.

“It’s easy to say that I won’t change my position. But that’s not right. How would I know whether or not I would change my stand if I have not read the case? I hope they give me time,” Jardeleza said in a press briefing.

He said people would have more cause to worry if he would take a position on an issue without studying the case.

“The discipline of lawyers is that we would study first the law and the facts, and then make a stand,” he said.

Jardeleza said he would study any issue or case that would reach his desk as solicitor general. And in deciding how to handle it, he would put a premium on public interest, he added.

“The proper term is not review or revisit. As I take up my new position, I will have to study everything,” he said.

“I can tell you, rest assured, any decision I will make will always be in the public interest,” he added

As for his connections to San Miguel Corp., where he used to serve as general counsel and senior vice president, he said this would not affect his decisions.

“I cannot revise my past … I do not begrudge if some sectors are not comfortable, but I assure you, to the best of my ability, I will decide or make recommendations to the decision makers based on my own conscience and always to my best judgment based on public interest,” he said.

Besides, Jardeleza said he did not handle Cojuangco’s case concerning his shares in the company, and was not involved in preparing his defense for it. Neither was San Miguel Corp. involved in the litigation of the coco levy shares, he added.

Coconut farmers are claiming ownership of a 20-percent bloc of San Miguel shares in Cojuangco’s name. The Supreme Court has ruled in Cojuangco’s favor, but farmers’ groups have contested the ruling.

Jardeleza said he was scheduled to take his oath as solicitor general on Friday and was just winding up his affairs as Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon, a post he held for less than a year.

Piatco, Banco Filipino

The Office of the President has informed Jardeleza that one of his first assignments is to conduct an inventory of pending cases which have a huge impact on the economy and the new policies of government.

One of these is the Piatco case over the construction of Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He also noted reports that the President wanted a review of the case over the closure of Banco Filipino.

In taking on his new assignment, Jardeleza is going back to his first love, which is to litigate and argue pleadings.

Resigned Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz had introduced Jardeleza to employees of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) on Monday and he had met with senior officials.

Jardeleza informed them that he would not micromanage the OSG and would let his subordinates excel at what they do. He also told the staff that he did not like surprises and that they should inform him of red flags.

Jardeleza is a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law  and was a class salutatorian. He has a Master’s of Law from Harvard Law School.

He worked for several law firms, such as Accra, his own Jardeleza Law Offices and the Roco Buñag Kapunan Migallos and Jardeleza, before joining San Miguel Corp.

Jardeleza joined the Office of the Ombudsman after opting for early retirement from San Miguel. He teaches constitutional law at UP.