Nothing can stop Arroyo from appointing next Chief Justice

(Update 3:57 PM) Nothing can stop President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from appointing the successor of Chief Justice Reynato Puno, after the Supreme Court junked with finality an appeal to reverse an earlier ruling allowing her to do so. Last March 17, the High Court ruled that the President is allowed to appoint Puno's replacement, asserting that the judiciary is not covered by the midnight appointments ban. Puno will retire from his post on May 17 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. "With exactly the same voting (9-3-1), the motions for reconsideration are denied with finality," said SC spokesman and court administrator Midas Marquez, his statement aired over the radio. Majority of the magistrates "are still of the view that the Vallarta case should be overturned and the entire judiciary should be exempted from the election ban on appointments," Marquez added. He was referring to the 1998 Supreme Court decision “In Re Appointments of Valenzuela and Vallarta," that invalidated the appointments of Hon. Mateo A. Valenzuela and Hon. Placido B. Vallarta as regional trial court judges. Marquez said that Eduardo Nachura and Presbitero Velasco mantained their view that the case was premature. Puno, Antonio Carpio, and Renato Corona inhibited themselves from voting. With the final ruling, the Judicial and Bar and Council — the body that submits a shortlist of nominees — has been directed to submit their list to Mrs. Arroyo before May 17. Public interview On Monday, the eight-man panel of the JBC grilled four contenders for the soon-to-be vacated post of chief justice. The four people vying for the post were Corona, Brion, Teresita Leonardo-De Castro; and Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Edilberto Sandoval. In his interview, Corona stressed to the JBC that his decisions as Supreme Court justice did not always favor the Arroyo administration, as claimed by his critics. Brion, meanwhile, said that if chosen to become chief justice, he would assure that the court would be working "away from the glare of the media." Allegations have persistently circulated that a Supreme Court made up of Arroyo appointees was part of the President's plan to extend her term beyond 2010. Currently, all Supreme Court magistrates are Arroyo appointees except for Puno, who was appointed by former President Fidel Ramos. JBC assails SC ruling The JBC, asserting its independence, had earlier assailed the high court’s March 17 ruling through a comment submitted last April 12. In its comment, the JBC, chaired by Puno, told the high court that it should have dismissed the petitions that would allow Mrs. Arroyo, whose term ends on June 30, appoint Puno’s successor after the May 10 elections. It said the petitions seeking to allow Arroyo to appoint the chief justice were “patently premature" because it had not yet decided whether it would submit to Mrs. Arroyo a short list of nominees for the successor of Puno. Ex-officio JBC members are Puno, Justice Secretary Alberto Agra, and Sen. Francis Escudero and Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor, the chairs of the Senate and House committees on justice, respectively. Of the eight JBC members, only Agra did not join the comment. Instead, he filed a separate comment asking the Supreme Court to state that Mrs. Arroyo could make appointments not only in the high court but in the entire judiciary. Agra is currently being criticized for issuing an order clearing two members of the powerful Ampatuan clan, partly based on ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan's claim that he was not in Maguindanao at the time of the carnage last November 23. The Palace, for its part, urged the public, especially government critics, to respect the Supreme Court ruling. Deputy presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar hoped that Tuesday's ruling would finally end calls for Mrs. Arroyo to avoid meddling in the appointment process. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV