Palace: Leonen no shoo-in at SC

Marvic Leonen. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

While chief government peace negotiator Marvic Leonen enjoys President Aquino’s confidence, he is not a sure bet for the  Supreme Court  just yet.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Mr. Aquino had yet to interview the seven nominees for the vacancy created with the promotion to Chief Justice of Ma. Lourdes Sereno.

The President is expected to name his choice on Nov. 22.

“The President will give each nominee the opportunity to be heard. [He] will speak to them and, on that basis, choose who will be the next associate justice,’’ Lacierda said.

After shepherding the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that culminated in the signing of a framework agreement, Leonen has emerged as one of the leading nominees.

The others on the shortlist of the Judicial and Bar Council are De La Salle University Law Dean Jose Manuel Diokno, former Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr., and Court of Appeals Associate Justices Jose Reyes Jr., Noel Tijam and Rosemari Carandang.

Lacierda said the President would like to evaluate each nominee “based on the constitutional standards of probity, independence and integrity.”

Meanwhile, Leonen, who earlier said he had no qualms about leaving his job as the government’s top man in the peace talks if he were appointed associate justice, said the tasks of the technical working groups of the government and MILF panels would be “easier given the positive reception” of the framework agreement.

Nearly a month after the signing of a landmark peace deal, the peace panels of the government and the MILF yesterday went back to the negotiating table in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to start the discussion on the annexes of the framework agreement. TJ Burgonio and  Marlon Ramos