Lucio Tan counsel among top JBC picks for SC
by Purple S. Romero, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 06/22/2009 4:54 PM
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MANILA - A former counsel of Lucio Tan’s companies, plus two from the judiciary, emerged as top choices to replace retired Supreme Court justices Dante Tinga and Alicia Austria-Martinez.
Roberto Abad, who was counsel for Tan’s Fortune Tobacco Co. in a P25 million tax-evasion suit, got the nod of all the seven members of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the body which vets nominees for the Office of the President.
Abad was tied on top of the JBC shortlist with Court of Appeals Justice Martin Villarama and Sandiganbayan Justice Francisco Villaruz.
Villarama and Villaruz were among the top picks of Supreme Court justices for the High Court vacancies. SC justices make their own non-binding choices to help the President choose new members of the High Court.
However, the first nominee of the SC--Court of Appeals Justice Josefina Salonga--failed to gather enough votes from the JBC.
Dismal performance
Abad’s chances appeared to be a long shot at the start of the vetting procees.
During Abad's interview with the JBC, he was asked to update himself on jurisprudence since he failed to give his views on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), major issues that have been brought before the SC.
The High Court recently upheld the VFA’s constitutionality in a 9-4 vote. It has yet to decide on the legality of the Philippine baselines law, a requirement under the UNCLOS.
Abad had said during the interview that he has yet to study the two issues. Then JBC member and now Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Gonzalez asked him to “read on these more.”
Mendoza’s assistant
Aside from the Fortune Tobacco tax evasion case, Abad also represented Negros Oriental district representative bet Olivia Paras in the oral arguments concerning the disqualification case against her rival, Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong.
Limkaichong's victory in the 2007 congressional elections is on the line following questions raised over her citizenship.
The case became controversial after one of the petitioners, Louis Biraogo, accused Chief Justice Reynato Puno of sitting on the case.
Abad, dean of the UST College of Law, also worked with Puno in the Office of the Solicitor General when Estelito Mendoza was still the lead government counsel.
Abad served as assistant solicitor-general from 1985-1986, while Puno was solicitor-general from 1974-1982.
“Social ties”
Meanwhile, a relatively new nominee is in contention for the vacancy.
Court of Appeals Justice Mariano del Castillo figured for the first time in the shortlist with five votes, tied with bar topnotcher and real estate businessman Rodolfo Robles and another appellate court Justice Hakim Abdulwahid.
Del Castillo, who reportedly dropped out of the race previously because the JBC'S vetting process brought unwanted pressure on him, has admitted to receiving assistance from President Arroyo.
Abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak earlier reported that Castillo was able to consult cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Alex Yap after a quintuple bypass operation through the help of Mrs. Arroyo.
Yap is the same doctor of First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo in his heart surgery.
In a letter published in the Philippine Star in May 2007, Del Castillo thanked the President for her assistance.
However, Castillo told the JBC that, if appointed, he would still be an independent jurist despite having accepted Arroyo's aid.
Disqualified
Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, who was said to be a favorite to getting appointed to the SC, was stricken out of the race by the JBC since graft-related complaints filed against her at the Office of the Ombudsman are still pending.
The JBC disqualified the newly-appointed justice secretary after the Ombudsman certified that cases against her are still under investigation.
The JBC deferred voting for two weeks to wait for the action of the Ombudsman on Devanadera's pending cases, which include a plunder suit filed by Ilocos Sur Governor Luis Chavit Singson.
In an earlier interview with Abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak, Sen. Francis Escudero said Devanadera has 17 complaints filed against her.
These cases cost Devanadera the SC nomination for the third time; the first was in 2007. Devanadera was also eliminated from the race for the post left by Justice Ruben Reyes on January 3, 2009.
Lotilla also out
Aside from Devanadera, the JBC also removed the name of former Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla from the list because he also has pending complaints before the Ombudsman.
One of these involve an alleged defiance by the National Electrification Administration, which Lotilla 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 administrative case related to the Batangas Electric Cooperative II has been dismissed, but the criminal complaint is still pending.
JBC rules specify that those with pending criminal or regular administrative cases are “disqualified from being nominated for appointed to any judicial post or as Ombudsman or Deputy Ombudsman.”
Amend policy
Escudero said that if Devanadera is to be considered for the SC, the JBC should amend its policies on disqualifying candidates due to pending cases.
He explained that the definition of “pending cases” should be clarified, adding that the JBC should decide if a candidate should be removed from contention upon the discovery of a pending case or only until after he or she has been asked to reply by the Ombudsman.
Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor, on the other hand, told Abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak that an amendment of this rule is in order because cases could be filed against contenders as a form of harassment.
“The amendment could also be considered for the next vacancy, probably,” he said.
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