"She is really emptying her cup as far as respect from the people is concerned. In her last few months, she continues to do things that divide the country, even taunting the Supreme Court which diminishes the credibility of the institution. She will truly go down history as the divisiveness president," he [Rep. Joel Villanueva] said. 

THE Supreme Court will not issue a ruling stopping the Judicial and Bar Council from submitting a shortlist of candidates for the next chief justice to President Arroyo, unless a petition is filed. Chief Justice Reynato Puno said on Friday the high court cannot motu proprio step into the proceedings being conducted by the eight-man council, which screens nominees to the President for vacant judicial posts, unless a case is filed before it.

"The Supreme Court can only act whenever there is a proper case. Without any proper case, the court – like the other courts in foreign jurisdictions – will not intervene," Puno told reporters in an ambush interview.  

The selection for Puno’s successor has sparked legal and political debates on whether Arroyo may appoint the next chief magistrate amid the executive ban on appointments two months before the May 10 elections, or beginning March 10, until the end of her term.  

Malacañang said President Arroyo is ready for lawsuits and a further drop in her already negative survey ratings once she appoints the replacement of retiring Chief Justice Reynato Puno, which many believe is a violation of the Constitution. 

Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar reiterated the Palace’s position that Arroyo can appoint a new chief justice even if many legal minds consider it a violation of the ban on midnight appointments before she steps down from office. Puno, who will retire on May 17 upon reaching the mandatory age of retirement of 70, said he is the only chief justice whose birthday has been well reported in the media.  

"With the Filipino people knowing my birthday, I shall be spending my retirement pay giving blow-outs… I hope that at the end of the day, they will not be blaming my parents for conceiving me on the wrong date," he said in jest in a speech before members of the Philippine Australian Alumni Association Inc. (PA3i).  

The JBC has automatically included the names of the five most senior justices in its list of nominees for chief justice. They are Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justices Renato Corona, Conchita Carpio-Morales, Presbitero Velasco Jr. and Antonio Eduardo Nachura.  

Velasco and Nachura have said they are not interested.

Carpio and his distant cousin, Morales, have signified their interest for the position, but on the condition that their names would be submitted to the incoming president. Puno, who is ex-officio chairman of the JBC, said the council will simply note Carpio and Morales’ letter of acceptance with the condition.  

"The JBC will be meeting again this Monday, and I suppose we will take the same action until we reach that stage where we shall be preparing the shortlist and decide whether or not to submit the shortlist to the sitting president," he said.  

Only Corona has yet to reply to the JBC on whether he is accepting his nomination. He is expected to submit his position on the JBC’s meeting today. 

The JBC will accept nominations and endorsements for the post until February 4. The Palace reiteration followed a resolution of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines stating Arroyo’s successor should appoint the next chief magistrate. 

Arroyo’s latest net satisfaction rating is -38 points, her second lowest since the -50 that she got in October 2004. Olivar said the IBP position will be treated as an "additional input" to the many legal advice that the President has been getting.  

He said the Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, former justice secretary Artemio Toquero, and the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) have stated that Arroyo can act on the vacancy of the chief justice position even if the JBC does not submit a list of nominees. 

"The time is not yet ripe because the JBC list has not yet reached the President. Once that the deadline comes and there is no list from the JBC yet, the President will make a decision," he said. 

"As usual she will consider the good of the majority. If she gets lawsuits and her survey ratings plunge further, her primary consideration is her responsibility and the national interest," he added. 

Olivar said the Palace prefers that JBC submit its list of nominees first so that Arroyo can choose the new chief justice. He said if Puno retires and no list is given by the JBC, the President can make an appointment based on national interest. 

Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Carpio and Carpio-Morales should be "disqualified" from the JBC’s nomination process for their statement that they would not accept an appointment coming from Arroyo. "The JBC will screen again. It could be an outsider, any prominent practicing lawyer with unassailable reputation in law and jurisprudence…Then our problems will be solved," he said. 

At the House, Rep. Edno Joson (Ind., Nueva Ecija) said Arroyo might be planning to maintain her influence over the judiciary by appointing Corona as the next chief justice. If named to the top SC post, the 61-year-old Corona will stay in office longer than the next president. Corona, whom the President reportedly prefers over Carpio, will reach mandatory retirement on Oct. 15, 2019 or three years after the incoming president steps down. 

Carpio, the most senior member of the high court, had a falling out with the President in 2006 when then Defense Secretary Avelino "Nonong" Cruz resigned from the Cabinet.Carpio is a partner of Pancho Villaraza of "The Firm" while Cruz is a senior associate along with former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo. 

Carpio has been a thorn on the side of Malacañang in such landmark cases as the declaration of national emergency, the calibrated preemptive response to rallies and demonstrations, and executive privilege. Joson said it seems Arroyo is planning to "embed" her anointed one in the judiciary with a new president sitting in Malacañang.  

He said Arroyo "cannot appoint anybody because there is no vacancy in the position yet."

"She has to wait for Chief Justice Puno’s retirement and by that time, the prohibition on midnight appointment applies up to the end of her term," he said. 

Joson said it would seem that Arroyos is rewarding Corona for his "achievements."

"Hindi pwedeng Rolex (watches) appointment gaya ng sa advertisement na ‘A crown for every achievement,’" he said. 

Rep. Joel Villanueva (PL, Cibac) said the Constitution prohibits Arroyo from making the appointment.  

"She is really emptying her cup as far as respect from the people is concerned. In her last few months, she continues to do things that divide the country, even taunting the Supreme Court which diminishes the credibility of the institution. She will truly go down history as the divisiveness president," he said.

SOURCE:   MALAYA by EVANGELINE DE VERA With Regina Bengco and Wendell Vigilia  , February 1, 2010