Congressman Neil Tupas, Jr., leaves the Supreme Court after attending the Judicial and Bar Council session and voting on the shortlisted names of the eight nominees for the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on Monday. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines – He would have voted for Justice Secretary Leila de Lima as next Chief Justice but Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr. stood by the Judicial and Bar Council’s decision to disqualify her.
“Iboboto ko sya. Kung hindi sya na-disqualify iboboto ko sya . Naniniwala ako sa kanyang kakayahan pero yun yung rules talaga e at walang boto yung motion dun na-include sya,’ Tupas said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer 990AM on Tuesday.
The motion he was referring to was his proposal and another member of the JBC, Undersecretary Frederick Musngi, to amend or suspend its rules that bars the nomination of applicants for judiciary positions if they have pending administrative or criminal cases.
Tupas, the representative of the House of Representatives on the JBC, insisted that the decision to disqualify de Lima, because of two pending disbarment cases against her, was just fair.
“Ako nagsi- sympathize din ako sa kanya dahil mag isa lang syang na-disqualify pero yung rules in-apply e,’ he said.
Asked if de Lima’s claim that she was singled out has basis, the lawmaker said, “Tingin ko wala…Sa tinging ko naman naging fair ang decision.”
Tupas said de Lima, who is also a member of the JBC, should also know and understand its own rules. De Lima only inhibited from its deliberations even before she was formally nominated for the post.
“Hindi ko alam kung anong paliwanag ang gusto nya. She’s also a member of the JBC so I’m sure alam nya rin yung patarakan dun so I don’t know kung anong explanation pa ang kinakailangan ng Secretary of Justice,’ Tupas added.