Senator Francis Pangilinan. INQUIRER PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan reiterated his call for the Judicial Bar Council (JBC) to allow live media coverage of the selection of next Chief Justice as more names have been nominated for the post.
“We are humbly asking the JBC – for the sake of transparency, accountability, and good governance – to reconsider its position,” Pangilinan said in a statement Monday.
“We have learned from and during the impeachment trial that the public has a higher stake in governance, now more than ever. If some effort is required to change the rules of the JBC, this is all for the sake of implementing urgently needed reforms in the Judiciary,” he said.
Pangilinan earlier called for the amendment of the JBC rules to give the public access to the entire selection process of the next Chief Justice to give way to “greater accountability, transparency and good governance in the judiciary.”
But the JBC turned down his proposal.
“We’re not doing this for ourselves or to make the process more cumbersome. We’re doing this for the common good – to remove the shroud of secrecy that has been hanging over the Judiciary through the years, to show that the judicial branch is ready for reform,” said the senator.
“Whatever time and effort will be put into amending the rules will be worth it in the end. Hindi na po puwede ang dating gawi (The old ways will no longer be allowed),” he said.
“If we want real change, we must be willing to dare and do things differently. If we want to serious reforms in the Judiciary, then we must be willing to change even the processes by which its leaders are selected. This will allow for more ripples of change to happen throughout the bureaucracy,” Pangilinan added.
Certain sectors have been calling on the JBC to open its selection process, following Renato Corona’s removal from office though an impeachment process.
Corona was found guilty by the Senate, which acted as an impeachment court, for hiding millions of pesos from the public.