SC insiders tell ANC most justices in favor of Arroyo appointing next CJ

MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) - The ongoing debate on whether or not President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo can appoint the next Supreme Court chief justice may come to an end on Wednesday.

In an interview on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) Tuesday, Supreme Court spokesperson Midas Marquez said the justices will hold a special en banc session on Wednesday morning to vote on whether or not the constutitional ban prohibiting the President from making midnight appointments 2 months before elections until her term expires covers the judiciary.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday postponed to Wednesday its ruling on whether Arroyo can appoint the successor of Chief Justice Reynato Puno, who will retire on May 17 when the election appointment ban is still in effect.

Marquez said the en banc failed to come up with a ruling, but they agreed to submit all written opinions by Tuesday night so that the justices can go over them and come up with a decision Wednesday morning.

"Last week, they already agreed that all opinions should be in yesterday (Monday) so they can vote today, but they had an extended deliberation on this case, and after some extended deliberation, some justices thought they should come up with their respective opinions. So they agreed to submit all their opinions today, and tomorrow morning, they agreed to hold a special en banc session for this," Marquez said.

Marquez said the en banc only had deliberations on Tuesday. He said the justices did not come up with an initial ruling amid reports that the voting favors President Arroyo's authority to appoint the next chief justice.

"No votes were taken today. Everything will be speculative," he said. "So tomorrow, hopefully, they can resolve the matter and vote,"

However, some Supreme Court insiders told ANC that most of the justices are in favor of allowing President Arroyo to appoint the next Supreme Court chief.

This despite mounting protests from lawyers groups against the so-called midnight appointment.

Puno cancels leave

Marquez said the en banc also could not agree on the row between Roberto Pagdanganan and Jonjon Mendoza over who should be the governor of Bulacan. Thus, they just extended the status quo order for another week.

He said the justices had a long discussion over whether President Arroyo can appoint the next chief justice, but they just agreed to submit their written opinions so that "tomorrow, they can be ready with their respective votes and come up with their decision."
 
The special en banc session on Wednesday will start at 9 a.m.. Marquez said the en banc should be able to come up with a decision in less than 2 hours.

Chief Justice Puno has canceled his leave so he can join the session on Wednesday. However, Puno said he is inhibiting from the voting since he is also chairman of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the body that vets appointments to the Supreme Court for the president.

The high court earlier asked the JBC to comment on several petitions questioning the President's plan to appoint the next chief justice, but the JBC deferred the matter to the SC.

Arroyo's critics insist she cannot name Puno's replacement because of the constitutional ban on presidential appointments 2 months before the elections and until the end of the president's term.

Except for Puno, all SC justices are Arroyo appointees. -- with a report Ricky Carandang, ANC