Escudero: Chief Justice bets to undergo psychological test

Sen. Francis Escudero

Chief Justice hopefuls will not only be required to bare their personal fortunes and open up all their bank accounts, the Judicial and Bar Council will also require them to undergo a psychological test.

According to Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, a congressional representative in the JBC, they will have to go through  psychological testing “to ascertain their character and thinking.”

“The JBC has hired a psychologist to conduct the testing and everybody has to go through this. The results will be confidential and will be valid for one year.  This will be added information for the JBC,” said Escudero.

The senator said the psychological tests were a standard requirement for all judges and justices as part of the selection process to weed out individuals unfit for the position.  Escudero said they would also be required to submit an NBI clearance.

Psychological tests are usually designed to gauge a person’s personality and their suitability for certain jobs. For example, psychological tests can be used to assess a person’s open-mindedness, conscientiousness to detail, ability to interact with others and deal with stress—qualities which are often mentioned as appropriate in judges.

Such tests could also be used to identify “abnormal patterns” such as tendencies toward conservatism, depression, anxiety, paranoia, psychopathic deviance, schizophrenia and other personality disorders.

Shortly after the Senate voted to convict former Chief Justice Renato Corona for not declaring all his assets, the JBC voted to require candidates for the position of Chief Justice to submit a waiver on their bank deposits and  income tax returns (ITR) for private candidates and statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for public officials. Escudero explained that these requirements were “consistent with the general sentiment of the people during and after the tedious impeachment process: That is to set the highest bar for transparency and accountability among those who are in and those who wish to join the government service.” Senators said they voted to oust  Corona primarily because he admitted to having hundreds of millions in peso and dollar deposits that he did not list in his SALN.

Escudero said the JBC was likely to submit its recommendations to the President on July 30.  Mr. Aquino has one month to make his choice.

Escudero said the public interviews would be conducted in the  middle of July but he stressed that these would not be “inquisitorial” in nature but merely informative.

He said it was up to the candidates perceived to be either for  former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo or President Benigno Aquino to decide whether they should continue with their nomination. “It’s a personal decision. I myself decided to decline any nomination because as one of the jurors, it is not right to profit from our actions. But I am not prejudging them,” said Escudero.

Among the nominees are acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares.

Carpio was accused by Corona of instigating his impeachment while De Lima and Henares testified against Corona in the impeachment trial.

Originally posted: 6:39 pm | Sunday, June 24th, 2012