Group calls for vigilance on SC appointments – report
01/15/2009 | 09:19 AM
MANILA, Philippines – Following the appointment of a perceived Malacañang ally to the Supreme Court, a militant group on Thursday urged the public to remain watchful on forthcoming appointments to the Tribunal in 2009.
A radio report quoted the Black and White Movement (BWM) as saying that Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Diosdado Peralta’s appointment to the high court may be a prelude to appointments of lackeys of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Peralta was named SC associate justice on Wednesday, replacing Associate Justice Ruben Reyes who reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 last January 3. Aside from Reyes, six other magistrates are scheduled to retire this year.
Peralta was a member of the three-man Special Division of the Sandiganbayan that found former President Joseph Estrada guilty of plunder in 2007.
Prior to his appointment, Peralta mentioned in media interviews that his father is a friend of the late President Diosdado Macapagal, after whom he was named. But Peralta insisted he will remain independent from President Arroyo should he be appointed to the high court.
In the radio report, the BWM echoed Estrada’s camp that earlier said Peralta’s seat in the SC was a reward for handing a guilty verdict on the deposed president. But Malacañang fended off such allegations, saying Peralta is competent to be a magistrate in the high court.
In the report, the group called on the public to be vigilant on Peralta’s future decisions, especially those concerning the administration to which he may be beholden.
Groups like the Bantay Korte Suprema and the Supreme Court Appointments Watch had earlier pushed for transparency and integrity in the seven new appointments to the SC in 2009, saying that the court’s independence may be at stake because before the President’s term expires in 2010, she would have appointed 14 of the 15 members of the Tribunal. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV
A radio report quoted the Black and White Movement (BWM) as saying that Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Diosdado Peralta’s appointment to the high court may be a prelude to appointments of lackeys of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Peralta was named SC associate justice on Wednesday, replacing Associate Justice Ruben Reyes who reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 last January 3. Aside from Reyes, six other magistrates are scheduled to retire this year.
Peralta was a member of the three-man Special Division of the Sandiganbayan that found former President Joseph Estrada guilty of plunder in 2007.
Prior to his appointment, Peralta mentioned in media interviews that his father is a friend of the late President Diosdado Macapagal, after whom he was named. But Peralta insisted he will remain independent from President Arroyo should he be appointed to the high court.
In the radio report, the BWM echoed Estrada’s camp that earlier said Peralta’s seat in the SC was a reward for handing a guilty verdict on the deposed president. But Malacañang fended off such allegations, saying Peralta is competent to be a magistrate in the high court.
In the report, the group called on the public to be vigilant on Peralta’s future decisions, especially those concerning the administration to which he may be beholden.
Groups like the Bantay Korte Suprema and the Supreme Court Appointments Watch had earlier pushed for transparency and integrity in the seven new appointments to the SC in 2009, saying that the court’s independence may be at stake because before the President’s term expires in 2010, she would have appointed 14 of the 15 members of the Tribunal. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV
