MANILA - Has independence from the appointing power become extinct or is it simply a rarity now in the Supreme Court?

That is the question some purists asked as they cringed with embarrassment over the manner by which newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Mariano Del Castillo is openly flaunting his closeness to Malacañang.  

This observation came after the magistrate bared details of his meeting with President Arroyo before his appointment was announced at a testimonial given by Del Castillo’s alma mater, the Ateneo Law School, last August 14.

During the testimonial, Del Castillo even related how he made a mad rush to the Palace to make an appointment with the President.

Meeting with the President

After the President arrived from the US last Aug. 5, Del Castillo said he got a call from Malacañang informing him that the President wanted to see him. “Notwithstanding the late hour, I dashed to the Palace,” Del Castillo told an audience that included Ateneo president Fr. Bienvenido Nebres and law school dean emeritus Fr. Joaquin Bernas.

“After talking to the Executive Secretary (Eduardo Ermita), the President showed up,” the new justice related. In a short conversation, “she would repeatedly tell the Executive Secretary that she had known me since 1991. After a few dialogues, she handed me a copy of my appointment and it was dated July 29, the day she left for the US,” Del Castillo said.

With this disclosure, SC observers commented that Del Castillo only exposed himself to suspicion that he was appointed not because of his qualifications but because of his closeness to the Palace.

“It betrays his lack of prudence. As a member of the SC, he should be the first to shield it from accusations that it [the High Court] is a rubber stamp of  Malacañang,” one observer told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak.

Antedated appointment?

Del Castillo’s appointment was announced Aug. 6, but his appointment papers were was dated July 29.  Senator Francis Pangilinan, a former member of the Judicial and Bar Council, raised questions on Del Castillo’s appointment.

Pangilinan suspected that Del Castillo’s appointment paper was only antedated July 29 so it would be within the 90-day period from which the President should fill up a vacancy in the Tribunal. He observed that as of Aug. 3, Malacañang and the JBC were still in a tug of war on the shortlist of names. The JBC’s rejection of Malacañang’s request for additional names was dated Aug. 3.

The supposed deadline to fill up the vacancy should have been July 31. (Read "90-day expiry" in Palace appoints new SC justice)

Malacañang has earlier resubmitted the shortlist of six names given by the JBC from which the President will pick the names to fill up two vacancies. The JBC, for its part, stood its ground.

“This appears to be an antedated appointment, considering the written reply of the JBC to the Ermita letter was dated August 3—or beyond the 90 day period. An antedated appointment, if true, is of doubtful legality,” Pangilinan said.

In his speech, Del Castillo took a potshot on Pangilinan, describing him as ‘Mr. Sharon Cuneta.’ One SC observer commented that it was “conduct unbecoming” of Del Castillo to refer to name-calling. Cuneta, a celebrity and a sought-after endorser, is Pangilinan’s wife.

When abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak texted him questions to clarify this matter, Del Castillo replied that his appointment paper dated July 29 should put the issue to rest. As to his speech in Ateneo, Del Castillo said: “Can you give me some breathing space to do my job first?”

He said he would be willing to grant a person-to-person interview “after I have rendered a couple of decisions. For now, I am just swamped with work.”

Not the first time

SC watchers have expressed fear that President Arroyo has been packing the High Court with subservient appointees that undermined the independence of the third branch of government. (Read: The Seven: Supreme Court Watch)

Two watchdogs have vowed to scrutinize the selection process of the JBC which vets nominees to the SC.

The Ateneo speech was not the first time that Del Castillo publicly flaunted his closeness to the President.

In May 2007, Philippine Star published his letter where he thanked Arroyo for helping him get the services of Dr. Alex Yap, who was also the cardiovascular surgeon of First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo.
He and his wife, former Ateneo law dean Cynthia Roxas Del Castillo, also visited the First Gentleman at the St. Luke’s hospital following his heart surgery in 2007.

Del Castillo, however, told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak in an interview last year that accepting the President's assistance would not affect his independence as an SC justice.

He said that once he is at the High Tribunal, the “umbilical cord” should be cut. (Read: Six Supreme Court aspirants have ties to GMA)

Del Castillo joins the SC with an impressive record. He has a zero backlog at the Court of Appeals, with only 3 of his ponencias, out of more than 200, reversed by the SC. – with a report from Purple Romero, abs-cbnNEWS.com/ Newsbreak