Pending cases may weaken the chances of former Energy Secretary Raphael “Popo” Lotilla to clinch either one of the Supreme Court (SC) posts vacated by retired justices Alicia Austria-Martinez and Dante Tinga.

Lotilla, a lawyer who is occasionally consulted by President Arroyo on legal issues, is considered by some observers as a frontrunner in the SC race. 

Lotilla faced a criminal complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly pocketing, along with six other Cabinet members, a P10-million “privatization bonus,” which was released to the officials of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) for the sale of the of the 600-megawatt Masinloc power plant in Zambales to YNN Pacific Consortium, Inc. in 2006.

YNN Pacific Consortium Inc. had the power plant in the bag for $561 million, but the deal hit a rough note after the consortium failed to deliver the $227-million down payment in June 2006.

As a board member of PSALM, Lotilla was accused of violating Republic Act 3019 or the anti-graft law along with Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, then Economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, and PSALM president Nieves Osorio and vice-president Froilan Tampinco.

In an interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak on Wednesday, Lotilla said the Ombudsman dismissed the criminal complaint on the Masinloc case on June 25, 2008.

In its decision, the Ombudsman said there was no basis for the complaint since the incentive pay was approved by President Arroyo through Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

Lotilla said the related administrative case is still pending. However, he said Justice Secretary Gonzalez has already submitted a motion for dismissal. He added that the "basis for the administrative charges arising from the Masinloc case are the same as the criminal one."

Asked if the PSALM officials received the alleged P10-million bonus, Lotilla said the bonus incentive was for all PSALM employees, and that it was less than P10 million.

Another Devanadera?

Although one criminal complaint has been dismissed, Lotilla has a pending case in the Ombudsman which stems from the alleged defiance of the National Electrification Administration, which he then headed in 2006, of a status quo order issued by the High Court reinstating eight of the 15 directors of the Batangas Electric Cooperative II, who were sacked for allegedly approving two anomalous contracts.

The directors purportedly awarded a P75-million computerization project to a company which only has a P62,500 capital and also spent P6.1 million, twice the said original amount, on 10 second-hand trucks.

In the same interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, Lotilla said the administrative case related to the Batangas Electric Cooperative II has been dismissed, but the criminal complaint is still pending.

However, Lotilla denied that the NEA defied the status quo order of the SC. "Up to now, they (Batangas Electric Cooperative II directors) have not been removed from the board. No election has been conducted since 2006," he said.

JBC rules specify that those with pending criminal or regular administrative cases are “disqualified from being nominated for appointment to any judicial post or as Ombudsman or Deputy Ombudsman.” 

In 2008, Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera, another SC hopeful, was eliminated from the race to the High Court because of pending cases. Ilocos Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson charged Devanadera with plunder in 2006 for her failure to nullify the alleged dubious Poro Point development contract between Bulk Handlers Inc. and Bases Conversion Development Authority. 

The JBC considered her, however, for the replacement of Justice Adolfo Azcuna, who hung his robe in February 2008. Devanadera was again included in the contention, even garnering two votes from the JBC.

‘Independent’ gov’t counsel

Meanwhile, Devanadera’s subordinate in the Office of the Solicitor General, Assistant Solicitor General (ASG) Amparo Tang, is also aiming for a seat at the High Tribunal.

Tang confirmed that Devanadera knew about her application to the Court.

However, Tang’s association with the OSG for more than 15 years casts doubt on her ability to be an independent jurist, the JBC pointed out.

Chief Justice Reynato Puno, who also served as ASG prior to his appointment in the judiciary in 1980, urged Tang to apply for the Court of Appeals first.

Puno said that the wisdom behind joining the CA, before for the SC, is to infuse objectivity and independence among court outsiders, especially in the case of Tang, whose main thrust is to defend the government.

Tang’s recent cases touched on the alleged military involvement in extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Tang argued, however, that since under the law, the ASG enjoys the same rank and privileges accorded to the CA justice, “the logical thing to do is to apply for the SC.”

But Puno said that the similarities between the two start and end with the perks. He explained that what the CA post offers is the training in handling cases, and the strengthening of one’s independence.

“You should be an independent spirit,” he said.

Keeping the wall

One of the seven new contenders, Sandiganbayan Justice Jose Hernandez, also discovered that a complaint has been filed against him. The case is still in the preliminary investigation stage, however.

Aside from the complaint, Hernandez also has to contend with an opposition letter filed against him by an anonymous party. The justice denied the allegations stated in the letter, though, which included being a “bagman for Justice Gregory Ong.”

Ong is a fellow Sandiganbayan magistrate whose appointment to the SC was recalled in 2007 after he failed to prove that he is a natural-born Filipino citizen.

While the two are reportedly close, it was not Ong who nominated Hernandez to the court. The latter was endorsed by fellow Sandiganbayan Justice Efren dela Cruz.

On the other hand, Jesus Manalastas admitted that he has the backing of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, his partner in their law firm Ponce Enrile Reyes & Manalastas Law Offices, in his bid for the High Court.

“I got the endorsement of the senator,” he said.

Manalastas added though that the law firm, as well as him, are insulated from Enrile’s political forays. 

“From day one, there has always been a wall between the firm and the senator’s political activities,” he said.