De Lima, Henares are qualified to become Chief Justice—Palace

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima

For Malacañang, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Bureau of Internal Revenue chief Kim Henares are qualified to be the next Chief Justice, even if Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago frowns on their inclusion in the list of nominees for the position left vacant with the ouster last week of Renato Corona.

“We have maintained both persons are qualified to be Chief Justice but that decision does not come from us initially but the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC),” said President Benigno Aquino’s spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

Lacierda said De Lima and Henares were performing very well in their respective positions. “They are very knowledgeable in the field of law and no one can question their competence and integrity,” he said.

Lacierda said it was up to Henares and De Lima if they would accept the nomination should their names be included by the JBC in the short list to be submitted to the President.

Mr. Aquino’s spokesperson commended De Lima for inhibiting herself from the proceedings of the JBC of which she is a member.

The justice secretary on Monday said that she was not applying for the Supreme Court’s top position. But “if and when nominated, then that is the time that I will decide whether to accept or decline the nomination,” De Lima said.

Prosecution witnesses

Santiago frowned upon the nomination of De Lima and Henares because the two had testified at the Senate impeachment court during the trial of Corona.

The senator wanted the two officials to decline any nomination lest they be accused of having ulterior motives for serving as prosecution witnesses at the impeachment trial.

Besides Santiago, Senator Panfilo Lacson is against De Lima being nominated to the judiciary’s top post.

Disbarment

Lacson said De Lima may not be qualified because she was facing a disbarment case. The case stemmed from a complaint by private lawyer Agustin Sundiam who asked the high court to mete out disciplinary action to De Lima and Lacierda for calling the Chief Justice Renato Corona a “lawless tyrant.”

Lacson also noted De Lima’s defiance of the temporary restraining order the Supreme Court issued in November last year that lifted the travel ban on former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband, Jose Miguel.

The senator’s antipathy toward De Lima is an offshoot of the justice secretary’s insistence on an arrest warrant against Lacson a couple of years ago despite a court dismissal of the case against him over the killings of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito.

Binay’s take

Asked to comment about reports that De Lima and Henares were among those being considered for the Supreme Court position, Vice President Jejomar Binay said, “It’s up to President Aquino to decide on that.”

“Somebody might get mad at me [if I comment on that]. I might get impeached,” the Vice President said in jest when pressed to comment if De Lima and Henares were qualified for the position.

Carpio a ‘land mine’

Asked if acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio was not on his list of Corona’s possible replacement, Binay jokingly called the question a “land mine,”  eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Carpio, being the most senior among the justices in the Supreme Court, is the acting Chief Justice after the Senate impeachment court convicted Corona last week of culpable violation of the Constitution.

“In fairness to Carpio, he is the second most senior justice [after Corona] but there have been cases when the next in rank was not selected as the new Chief Justice,” Binay said at a press briefing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his arrival from an official working visit to Malaysia and the United States.

“I remember the case of Justice (Artemio) Panganiban. He was not No. 2 when he was appointed [Chief Justice],” the Vice President said.

Preferably from academe

If he were to have his way, Binay said he preferred that the next head of the judiciary come from the academe.

“I hope whoever will be chosen will have judicial maturity and administrative capability, and preferably from the academe,” Binay said.

He said there were potential candidates from the academe whose judicial maturity cannot be questioned, but he refused to name names.

“It would be best that the next Chief Justice not only be sharp legally but also have the administrative experience and capabilities in the judiciary because the CJ has two jobs. One is to oversee the dispensation of justice and the other is to administer over the Supreme Court,” Binay said.

He added that the next Chief Justice must not be perceived as playing politics.

Binay recalled that during his time as a student at the UP College of Law, most of the teachers were known legal luminaries who later served as Chief Justices.

Asked about Binay’s opposition to Carpio’s possible appointment as Chief Justice, Lacierda said the Vice President “has all the right to express his opinion before the President and no one will stop anyone from voicing their opinion.”

“The President is cognizant of various opinion in the media, and at day’s end he will discuss this and look at the personal circumstances of the nominees,” he told reporters.

Lacierda also reiterated the position of the President that he “is open to having a Chief Justice within or without the incumbent justices.”

Advisory council

Lacierda also said the President was open to convening the Judicial Executive Legislative Advisory and Consultative Council as suggested by Senator Francis Pangilinan in order to further improve the judiciary.

Lacierda said Mr. Aquino wanted the next Chief Justice to “clean the ranks of the judiciary” and ensure that cases were decided swiftly so that justice could be served.

He mentioned a World Bank report that found that it took six years for a case to be settled in the court of origin and another set of years for it to reach the Court of Appeals and eventually the Supreme Court.

“We also want two things—the President cited consistency and predictability in decisions,” Lacierda said.

Originally posted: 9:38 pm | Tuesday, June 5th, 2012