Restoring faith in the Supreme Court
The nomination and selection process for the position of chief justice has run its course and we must begin to accept and congratulate ex-Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin on his new post, regardless of the stance we all took on the matter before the appointment was announced on Wednesday.
Some quarters immediately grumbled over President Rodrigo Duterte’s breach of a promise to base his choice of chief justice on seniority in the high court. Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio had been expected by many supporters to be formally appointed to the position because of his seniority in the Supreme Court.
The presidential palace explained on Wednesday, however, that Bersamin was the most senior justice in terms of services rendered under the Judicial Branch of government in “various capacities.”
What appeared to be the dominant reaction from leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives was respect for the President’s choice.
“Of course it is always the prerogative of the President. There are many competent people in the Supreme Court but I’m happy because I think Justice Bersamin will become effective [as chief of the judiciary],” Sen. Grace Poe said in a chance interview.
“Chief Justice Bersamin is a brilliant legal mind with a dynamic style, an incisive wit and enlightening opinion. With CJ Bersamin at the helm, we hope that timely justice will always prevail,” she added.
Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission headed by Dante Jimenez also congratulated Bersamin.
“Come to think of it, as early as 2008, I was already aware of his legal savvy,” Sotto said.
The PACC, meanwhile, said in a statement: “The newly appointed chief justice, Lucas Bersamin, is a career jurist and well deserves the position… The President could not have chosen a more qualified jurist to head the SC.”
House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez expressed surprise that President Duterte appeared to have ignored his earlier statement that he would base his choice on seniority, which many believed meant the number of years served in the Supreme Court and not simply in the judiciary. But acknowledging the President’s prerogative to choose, he added, “Admittedly I was surprised, but Bersamin is good.”
Although senatorial candidates from the opposition asked Duterte to explain his choice, they did not question Bersamin’s qualification for the job, saying he is “highly-respected” and has “a good reputation” in the high court.
Bersamin entered the judiciary after the Edsa 2 People Power Revolution in 1986 as Quezon City Regional Trial Court judge, where he served for nearly 17 years. He also served over six years as associate justice at the Court of Appeals, and close to 10 years as the 163rd magistrate of the Supreme Court.
Candidates for seats on the Supreme Court are subjected to a careful vetting process by the JBC, which then submits a list of qualified selections to the President, who makes the final appointment.
As the chief justice is considered the primus inter pares — the “first among peers” — it stands to reason that any judge deemed qualified by the combination of the JBC and the President to be an associate justice must also be deemed qualified to potentially be the chief justice.
President Duterte said he was given five names to choose from, and he has made his choice.
As leaders of the legislature have spoken and shown respect for the presidential choice, who himself has built a personal track record and seniority in the judiciary that no one assails, it is for the better that arguments over the presidential prerogative on the matter be put to rest and the nation begin the process of rebuilding trust in the highest court of the land.
This is not to dismiss the need to remind our government of the need to establish a more rational, consistent formula for the selection of the highest post in the Supreme Court in the future that will help people in that process, regardless of their political perspective.
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