Sereno admits losing friends over JBC picks

Supreme Court Chief Justice Sereno sit with retired Chief Justices Hilario Davide Jr. (left) and Artemio Panganiban Jr. at the Judicial and Bar Council’s 30th Anniversary Gala at the PICC on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. (Photo from the Supreme Court Public Information Office)

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno admits she has lost some friends as chair of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) because of her picks of nominees for vacant posts in the judiciary.

“We are in a time when everyone has a say in the political world, and we must not cede to the popular view,” Sereno said in her speech at the JBC’s 30th Anniversary Gala on Friday at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

The seven-member JBC, chaired by Sereno, is constitutionally mandated to screen and vet nominees to the President for vacant posts in the judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman and Office of the Deputy Ombudsman.

“Instead, we must pick the nominees in the shortlist. We will submit to the President based on the principles of integrity, excellence, and competence; unfettered by the shackles of friendship, relationship, or other considerations,” Sereno said.

“I have lost some friends because of my decisions in the JBC,” the Chief Justice added.

Sereno described the role of JBC members as “gatekeepers” for helping in the selection and appointment of “competent candidates” to the judiciary.

“We are like gatekeepers, for when we are able to only allow those who deserve to enter will we be able to change the face of the judiciary,” she said.

“We hold the future of our nation, and therefore, it is critical that we properly choose who we will include in the shortlist – someone who is, without a shadow of a doubt, loyal to the law and will be independent,” she said.

President Rodrigo Duterte was invited to the event, but he instead sent Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to represent him.

Sereno said she had hoped Duterte would hear her speech.

“I would have delivered this address with President Duterte in attendance, but I guess Medialdea is just as welcome,” she said. /atm