Illegal acceptance of Chief Justice post is impeachable—Fr. Bernas

The next chief justice may be impeached if President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appoints him two months before the presidential elections, constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas warned on Friday. "Whoever accepts an appointment that is unconstitutional becomes an accomplice in the unconstitutional act. That becomes a culpable violation of the Constitution which can be a subject of an impeachment," said Bernas during the Supreme Court Appointments Watch Forum. Bernas stressed that under Article 7 Section 15 of the Charter, an incumbent president is barred from making so-called midnight appointments "two months immediately before the next presidential elections." In her report aired over "24 Oras," GMA News' Kara David said the framers of the Charter used as their inspiration a situation in 1962 where former President Carlos P. Garcia appointed at least 300 people in the government a short period before he left office, thus leaving his successor Diosdado Macapagal, the father of President Arroyo, powerless from installing his own key officials. "That went to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court said this is a midnight appointment which we cannot allow. This was the inspiration for Article 7 Section 15 of the Constitution," Bernas said.
Last Tuesday, the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) “unanimously" agreed to start nominations for the replacement of outgoing Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno, despite opposition from various sectors. This has prompted Malacañang to reiterate its long-standing position that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had the prerogative to appoint Puno’s replacement despite conflicting Constitutional provisions on the issue. Set to retire seven days after the May 10, 2010 elections, Puno is the only non-Arroyo appointee among the 15 members of the high court. Franklin Drilon, a former senator and justice secretary, said that while there was nothing wrong if the JBC opened the nominations, Mrs. Arroyo could use it to show a “prima facie finding" that the JBC is giving her the go-signal to appoint Puno's replacement during the ban. Although the eight-member JBC voted to open nominations for Puno’s replacement, SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez has earlier said that it has deferred the submission of a shortlist of nominees to President Arroyo. The JBC’s eight members include Puno, who sits as ex-officio member, Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, Sen. Francis Escudero, Rep. Matias Defensor, retired SC justice Regino Hermosisima, Dean Amado Dimayuga Jr., J. Conrado Castro, and retired CA justice Aurora Santiago-Lagman. The JBC will publish the opening of the position for applications or recommendations so that members may soon deliberate on the list of candidates and publish the names of candidates, Marquez added. – Aie Balagtas See/JV, GMANews.TV