Uphold independence in Chief Justice choice, JBC told

MANILA, Philippines—A Filipino lawyer and faculty member of the Peking University School of Transnational Law in Shenzhen, China, has called on the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to uphold its constitutional independence in screening the candidates for Chief Justice.

“I am troubled to read from various news reports that there are many ongoing attempts to erode the constitutional independence of the Judicial and Bar Council, from the last-minute proposals to change its own rules to accommodate and adjust to specific cases, to alleged efforts from some members of the executive branch to extend assistance to candidates to the shortlist,” lawyer Diane Desierto said in an open letter to the JBC.

“All of these actions, if true, are unprecedented and are of dubious constitutionality. They will weaken the deliberative process and impartiality intended by the 1987 Constitution for the JBC,” she said.

Desierto recalled how former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had “attempted to undermine” the council by returning the shortlist to them to include her preferred nominees. However, Desierto said the council “laudably stood firm and decided independently, thus preventing any potential overreaching from any of the branches of government.”

“Our Constitution is only as strong as our institutions are conscious of their constitutional duties. The JBC has proven itself repeatedly as the vanguard of independence and the rule of law, which enforces the same standard on aspirants to the august offices of the judiciary,” she said.

Desierto said global scholars in comparative constitutional law were “closely following recent developments unfolding at the JBC, particularly the further threat of continued judicial politicization.”

“Politicization cannot occur if the JBC remains steadfast, independent and committed to its constitutional duties and its own rules of procedure developed, studied and solidified over time through the JBC’s well-entrenched and prudent practices,” she said.

The JBC first set the voting on the Chief Justice shortlist for July 30 but opted to defer it to Aug. 2 as it wanted to wait for the Supreme Court’s final ruling on the constitutionality of the council’s eight-member composition that had been challenged by lawyer Frank Chavez.

The high court ruled last July 17 that there should only be seven members of the council with just one representative from Congress as provided for in Article VIII Section 8(1) of the Constitution. However, on Aug. 3, the high court suspended the implementation of its order after Congress appealed its decision.

The JBC then reset the voting to Aug. 6, but Sen. Francis Escudero, the Senate representative in the council, asked for more time to examine the qualifications of the 20 candidates. The heavy monsoon rains and resulting floods necessitated yet another postponement.