Carpio considers chief justice nomination, but—

Published January 28, 2010 4:05am

Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio has joined three other colleagues in turning down a possible appointment as the high court's chief justice, saying that he would like to be considered for the post, but not under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In a letter sent to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), Carpio clarified that he would like to be considered for the top judiciary post, but only if his nomination would be submitted to the next president.

(Illegal acceptance of Chief Justice post is impeachableâ€”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. "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 a report aired recently 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.

â€œI hereby manifest my interest to be nominated for the position, on the understanding that my nomination will be submitted to the next President of the Philippines, in view of the ban on presidential appointment," said Carpio in his January 26 letter. Carpio, being the most senior magistrate next to Chief Justice Reynato Puno, is one of the strongest contenders for the position. His sentiments were similar to those raised by another associate justice and his distant cousin, Conchita Carpio-Morales. (See: 2nd SC justice declines nomination to chief justice post) Under the Constitution, an incumbent president is prohibited from making appointments 60 days before elections. As applied to this year's national elections, the appointment ban will start on March 11 and stay in effect until Mrs. Arroyoâ€™s term ends on June 30. On the other hand, the Charter also states that the President has to fill up the vacancy in the judiciary 90 days from submission of the JBCâ€™s shortlist. Before Carpio and Morales voiced their intentions, associate justices Antonio Eduardo Nachura and Presbitero Velasco, Jr. had also declined to be included in the list, saying that the nomination should be limited to the three most senior justices of the court, namely, Carpio, Morales, and Renato Corona. The five justices were automatically considered by the eight-member JBC after it formally announced the opening of the nomination process in connection with Chief Justice Punoâ€™s forthcoming retirement on May 17. Nonetheless, the council is still accepting nominations and endorsements for the post until February 4. - Aie Balagtas See/JV, GMANews.TV

Tags: judiciary, supremecourt, jbc, chiefjustice