Retiring SC justice Morales accused of impropriety

A private citizen has asked the Judicial and Bar Council not to endorse outgoing Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales' application for the Ombudsman post. In a letter sent to the JBC last Tuesday, former Citibank employee Rosita Tan Paragas accused Morales of impropriety when she reversed an earlier final decision that was favorable to Paragas. Paragas was terminated from service in 1997, prompting her to file an appeal with the National Labor and Relations Commission, which ruled in her favor. The NLRC decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals, and later by the Supreme Court. The decision reached finality in 2004, but two years later, Morales gave weight to the appeal of Citibank and reversed the ruling of the NLRC and the appellate court. "I do not know what magical sway Citibank had on the Supreme Court, specifically on Justice Carpio-Morales, who not only sanctioned the resurrection of an already final dismissal after more than two years, but proceeded to reverse the ruling of the NLRC and the CA," Paragas said. She then told the JBC: "As an aspirant to becoming the next Ombudsman, Justice Carpio-Morales' ruling in my case may give the Judicial and Bar Council an idea of her sense, or lack of independence, fairness, and justice. I hope that this letter will help you in making an intelligent vote on who to endorse as our next Ombudsman, even as I also hope that the Supreme Court en banc will take a second hard look at my case." Morales' camp has repeatedly declined to answer the media's requests for her response. However, a check of the Paragas case records would show that Morales reversed the 2004 decision "in the higher interest of justice." Morales, who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 on June 19, is set to attend an unofficial retirement ceremony later in the day. Morales will face the Judicial and Bar Council's public interviews on Thursday next week, June 23. Morales is facing six more oppositions to her Ombudsman bid. These are from former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, lawyers Delfin Catapang and Ferdinand Topacio, and private citizens Joven Pajora and Daisy Bardoquillo. Among the members of the Supreme Court bench, Morales is one of the known dissenters in cases decided in favor of Mrs. Arroyo, now a legislator for Pampanga's second district in the House of Representatives. Morales likewise penned for the court majority decisions that had adverse impact on the Arroyo administration and its policies. — RSJ, GMA News