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Puno says Arroyo should wait for JBC list


Outgoing Chief Justice Reynato Puno on Wednesday said Malacañang should not deviate from the practice of picking the next head of the judiciary branch from a shortlist submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC). Puno, who is set to retire on May 17, was reacting to statements that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo need not wait for the JBC list to appoint the next chief justice. "Ako noon, ganun ang naging proseso. Ganon din ang naging proseso ng mga nakaraang panahon (Picking the next chief justice from the JBC list has always been the practice), so I don’t see any reason why there will be a deviation in the practice," he said. JBC, the body that screens nominees to vacant judicial posts, will meet on Monday to discuss the matter. It is yet to submit a shortlist of candidates for Puno’s successor to Malacañang. President Arroyo is being pressed to pick Puno’s successor despite the constitutional ban for incumbent presidents to make appointments 60 days before a presidential election – a move opposed by many.


Critics and court observers believe that the move is meant to circumvent the constitutional ban on midnight appointments by an outgoing president. The ban will start March 11. Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said President Arroyo could appoint Puno’s successor since the Constitution also states that the judiciary branch should not be left without a leader even for a short period. Puno, however, said he was not aware of such a constitutional provision. “Di ko nabasa yung nabasa ni Secretary Bello (I haven’t read that provision)," he said. The Philippine Bar Association (PBA), the oldest group of lawyers in the country, also objected to the early selection of Puno's successor, saying such an advance appointment process violates the Constitution. “The PBA raises its vehement and strong objections to the brazen, not to mention, unconstitutional, attempt being made by one of the Palace’s staunch allies in the JBC to prematurely compel it to submit a list of nominees for the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to the incumbent president," the group said in its six-page letter to JBC. PBA was referring to Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor, a known Arroyo ally who is urging the JBC to come up with the list of Puno's possible replacements months before Puno actually retires. Defensor is an ex-officio member of JBC. Puno is the remaining non-Arroyo appointee in the 15-member Supreme Court. He was appointed during the Ramos administration. - Aie Balagtas See/KBK, GMANews.TV
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