Chief Justice aspirants must submit bank waiver, SALN

Sen. Francis Escudero

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Monday required all aspirants to the post of Chief Justice to waive the confidentiality of their bank accounts and to submit their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), Senator Francis Escudero said Monday.

Escudero, a JBC member, said that acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima inhibited themselves when the council met at around noon Monday to discuss the nominations for the next head of the judiciary.

The post is vacant after the Senate impeachment court found last week then Chief Justice Renato Corona guilty of culpable violation of the Constitution, resulting in his dismissal.

“The JBC voted to add the requirement that applicants execute a waiver on the secrecy of their bank accounts and [dollar accounts under] the Foreign Currency Deposits Act in favor of the JBC,” Escudero told reporters after the JBC meeting at the Supreme Court in Manila.

“This is for the JBC to compare the contents of their bank accounts and the SALN that they will fill [out],” he added.

Too much

But Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who presided over Corona’s impeachment trial, frowned on the new requirement.

“That’s too much. It’s OA,” Enrile said of the requirement. “It’s like telling the nominee we do not trust him. So, he needs to waive his right [to the secrecy of his bank accounts].”

Enrile said that in the case of Corona, he volunteered the waiver on his bank accounts after the impeachment court had learned that some of his properties were not listed in his SALN.

“This is a different situation. It’s like telling would-be public servants we do not trust them.  Maybe it would be better to just dissolve the republic. There is no hope if we do not trust our elected and appointed officials occupying powerful positions,” he said.

Enrile said he would not agree to such a condition if he were the nominee. “I will be serving the country and immediately you suspect my motives,” he said.

The nomination process begins after the vacancy for the  top post in the Supreme Court is formally announced to the public through newspapers this Friday.

The deadline for nominations and applications is on June 18 and the JBC is expected to be ready by July 18 with its short list of nominees for submission to President Benigno Aquino, said Maria Milagros Cayosa, a JBC member representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

Cayosa said the nominees’ bank accounts would be examined by JBC members only and would not be released to the public.

“Integrity is very important … regardless of where they come from. They should be willing to sign that waiver for the JBC to look into their foreign currency deposits,” she said.

“It’s just for the eyes of the council members. If they want to give the waiver to the public, that is their option,” she added.

Escudero said current or former government officials who would be nominated would also be required to submit their SALN from the time they joined the civil service.

Those coming from the private sector would also be required to execute and submit a SALN “as of Dec. 31, 2011.”

Fewer applicants seen

“These have been adopted by the JBC … . Maybe there would be fewer applicants,” Escudero said in jest, adding that he was the one who proposed that applicants sign a waiver.

“The JBC voted to add this requirement for all of those who would apply or accept their nominations. [If the aspirant does not sign a waiver], the JBC will decide if his name would be included in the list that would be published,” Escudero said.

“In the past, the JBC excluded applicants and nominees who did not comply with the submissions required by the JBC,” he added.

Carpio, De Lima

Escudero said Carpio and De Lima, who are also JBC members, inhibited themselves from the council’s proceedings Monday out of propriety.

Carpio and the four other most senior members of the Supreme Court are deemed automatically nominated for the post of Chief Justice. Mr. Aquino himself has floated De Lima’s name as a possible replacement for Corona.

However, Carpio did not categorically state if he was accepting the nomination.

“Justice Carpio inhibited himself and we also excused Secretary De Lima because we don’t want to add color to our deliberations … . We thought it wise so that the JBC process would not be questioned from the very start,” Escudero said.

Carpio presided over the JBC meeting as acting chair when it decided yesterday to submit the names of 14 nominees for the three vacancies in the Court of Appeals.

Hermosisima presided

But when it was time to discuss the nominations for Chief Justice, Carpio inhibited himself. De Lima, who is next in line as chair, also inhibited herself and so retired Supreme Court Justice Regino Hermosisima presided over the meeting.

“Actually, this is unprecedented because this is the first time that we had two acting [chairs]  in one day. It never happened in the past,” Cayosa said.

She added that De Lima had told the council that she was “not personally applying but should there be [a] need later on, I would like to keep my options open.”

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, De Lima said a council member had asked her if she was interested in the position of Chief Justice.

“My answer was ‘I am not applying for the position of  Chief Justice’ and if and when nominated, then that is the time that I will decide whether to accept or decline the nomination,” the justice secretary said.

In the meantime, De Lima said she would not be participating in the JBC deliberations on the nominations and applications for Chief Justice.

“I decided to inhibit from being the presiding officer of the discussions for the nomination process until after I shall have decided on any nomination. It’s just an eventuality,” she said.

‘Delicadeza’

“In the same manner, acting Chief Justice Carpio was also on the side of prudence and exercising delicadeza that, in the event he would also be nominated,” she added.

Escudero said Carpio and De Lima could again join the JBC  deliberations if they were not nominated, did not apply, or if they declined if nominated.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro was also present “as a consultant” when the JBC discussed the Court of Appeals nominations. Like Carpio, she later inhibited herself because she was also a senior member of the high court and was deemed automatically nominated, Cayosa said.

Nominees have until June 18 to decide whether to decline or accept their nominations, she said.

Long list by June 25

“And then on June 25, we will have a long list. That long list will be published on June 27 … . About the first week of July, we will have the interviews and then, hopefully by July 16, we will have a short list,” the IBP representative said.

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano called on the President to insulate from politics the JBC’s selection process.

“If there is one appointment that is most important, so far, in his administration, and that will affect us, maybe, even for a decade, it is this. It is as important as his election,” Cayetano said.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III urged the public to closely scrutinize nominees to the post of the Chief Justice, saying that the finalization of the JBC list basically meant a done deal.

Corona clique

Pimentel likewise advised against choosing a candidate “within the clique” of the impeached former Chief Justice, said to be seven to eight associate justices, to ensure a “natural checking mechanism.”

Pimentel pointed out that the next Chief Justice need not necessarily come from within the Supreme Court. “It has happened in the US and it has happened also here,” he said, adding that the candidates as the next Chief Justice could include practicing lawyers, not only judges and justices.

But Speaker Feliciano Belmonte prefers an insider to be the next Chief Justice.

Someone who is on  the Supreme Court or in the judicial system would be a good choice because he or she already knows the ropes, Belmonte said.

“For me, the first preference should be [for] the people already in the Supreme Court or [on] the court system. But still, the President should be given as wide a leeway as possible,” he told reporters in an interview. With reports from Cathy C. Yamsuan, Jeannette I. Andrade, Leila B. Salaverria and Michael Ubac