Oriental Mindoro 2nd District Representative Reynaldo Umali urged the Supreme Court to reverse its 2013 decision limiting Congress’ representative to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to only one.
The JBC is constitutionally mandated to screen aspirants to the judiciary and the Ombudsman posts. It submits its shortlisted candidates to the President for final determination.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the JBC is created under the supervision of the Supreme Court, composed of the Chief Justice as ex officio Chairman, the Secretary of Justice, and a representative of the Congress as ex officio Members, a representative of the Integrated Bar, a professor of law, a retired Member of the Supreme Court, and a representative of the private sector.
In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress should only have one representative in the JBC as it rejected the argument that a single representation runs contrary to the bicameral nature of the legislative department.
“This cannot be said, however, in the case of its representation in the JBC. There is clearly no interaction between the two houses in their participation in the JBC. No mechanism is required between the Senate and the House of Representatives in the screening and nomination of judicial officers. Hence, the term ‘Congress’ must be taken to mean the entire legislative department … a claim of oversight cannot prevail over the more pragmatic scheme which the Constitution laid with firmness—that the JBC has only one seat for a single representative of Congress, as one of the co-equal branches of government,” the decision upholding its July 17,2012 ruling read.
In the recent petition filed by Umali, he insisted that such a set-up runs contrary to the bicameral structure of the legislature.
“A single representation not only violates the intent of the frames of the Constitution but defies reason and practicability in the process,” Umali, chairman of the House committee on justice said.
Under the present arrangement, Umali sits in the JBC from January to June while Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate committee on justice sits from July to December.
He said the present six-month rotation in the JBC will deprive the House of Representatives of its constitutional right to vote.
As proof, he said, during the JBC deliberations last Dec. 2 and 9 for the two vacancies in the Supreme Court, he submitted his votes but these were not counted.
In both deliberations, the council chaired by Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno only counted the votes submitted by Senate justice committee chair Richard Gordon because of the current six-month rotation in the membership in JBC of the Senate and House representatives.
“Unless immediately rectified in accordance with the true spirit of the Constitution, the deprivation of these rights to the House of Representatives renders the JBC proceedings open to continuing constitutional infirmity and challenge, which should be avoided and corrected,” Umali said.
The JBC is chaired by Chief Justice Sereno with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II as ex-officio member representing the executive branch and Senator Gordon and Rep. Umali sharing a term as legislative representative.
The regular members are retired SC Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, who heads the Executive Committee; lawyer Jose Mejia, representing the academe; lawyer Milagros Fernan-Cayosa, representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and retired Judge Toribio Ilao, representing the private sector. CDG/rga