SC defers action on SolGen’s plea

MANILA, Philippines–The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred action on Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza’s motion seeking to bar Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno from voting in the Judicial and Bar Council’s selection of nominees for the vacant slot in the high tribunal, even as the body had already chosen four nominees.

Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te said the high tribunal had yet to act on Jardeleza’s letter, which sought to exclude Sereno from the JBC voting after she questioned his integrity during deliberations on the nominees.

The letter also sought to defer the JBC vote on Monday, which pushed through just the same, with four nominees being selected, excluding Jardeleza.

The JBC chose Court of Appeals Associate Justices Apolinario Bruselas and Jose Reyes Jr., Commission on Audit Chair Grace Pulido-Tan and Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Reynaldo Daway as its nominees for the vacant high court seat.

Their names will be submitted to President Aquino for his selection.

Jardeleza last week said that Sereno, a former colleague of his at the University of the Philippines College of Law, had blocked his nomination.

Though he could not say what the reason was for Sereno’s objection, Jardeleza recalled that three years ago, when he and Sereno were both members of the UP Law faculty, he had spoken out against teachers “who do not attend classes, who do not correct papers or do not finish the course or syllabus.”–Tarra Quismundo