Pact forged to monitor SC justice selection

A coalition of legal, academic and business groups have partnered with four of the largest media organizations in the country, including The Philippine STAR, for a massive information campaign to drum up greater public participation in the selection of Supreme Court justices by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

“Bantay Korte Suprema,” led by Sen. Francis Pangilinan and University of the Philippines’ College of Law dean Marvic Leonen, yesterday signed a memorandum of   understanding with The STAR, Philippine Daily Inquirer, GMA 7 Network Inc. and ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. on the public monitoring of the selection of justices to the High Court.

Under the MOU, the media firms “agree to assist in the information dissemination by way of featuring commentaries and news reports about the activities in line with the project.”

“The media play a very crucial role given that there are seven vacancies… it is vital that the process be transparent and the public participation is widest so that the process is safeguarded,” Pangilinan said.

The Bantay Korte Suprema also launched yesterday a text campaign where the public can view information about SC nominees by typing BKS and sending it to 2948. The public can also send their comments about a certain nominee by typing BKS<space>name of the nominee and comment and send these to 2948. The cost of each text is P2.50.

Asked to assess the current proceedings in the selection of new justices, Pangilinan said: “So far, because of the vigilance of the media and citizens groups and the legal community, it’s okay. But this is a whole year of appointment so we have to make sure that our efforts are sustained.”

Pangilinan said the public must remain vigilant in the selection of SC justices as “this could dictate the future of our country.”

“We can survive a corrupt executive department because we have remedy – we can bring it to court. We can survive a corrupt legislative department because again we have remedy – we can bring it to court. But we cannot survive a subservient SC or a corrupt judiciary,” he said.

Aside from Pangilinan and Leonen, other members of the Bantay Korte Suprema include Vince Lazatin of the Transparency and Action Network; Rodolfo Urbiztondo of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; Alberto Lim, executive director of the Makati Business Club; former Senate president Jovito Salonga; former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban; retired justice Vicente Mendoza; Bobby Parel of the Philippine Bar Association; and Emil Capulong.

The campaign was launched last November to help raise public awareness of and vigilance on the selection of new justices of the SC.

Bantay Korte Suprema has vowed to provide the JBC with information on the competence, integrity and independence of nominees to the SC posts.

In 2009, seven out of the 15 justices are set to retire. They are Ruben Reyes, Adolfo Azcuna, Dante Tinga, Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Leonardo Quisumbing, Minita Chico-Nazario, and Alicia Austria-Martinez.

Of the seven retiring justices, only Santiago and Quisumbing were not appointed by President Arroyo.

Meanwhile, a former associate justice of the Supreme Court yesterday urged vigilance in the appointment of justices to the high court.

“We shouldn’t allow a GMA court to be installed,” retired Associate Justice Angelina Gutierrez-Sandoval said during a forum at the National College of Public Administration and Governance at the University of the Philippines.

“As a former justice, I believe that the greatest evil that can beset the Supreme Court is its loss of independence,” she said.

Eleven nominees are being considered by the JBC for the slot to be vacated by Associate Justice Reyes, who will retire on Jan. 3, 2009.

Austria-Martinez, on the other hand, is set for early retirement in April.

Groups and individuals have expressed concern that President Arroyo might appoint people who would decide in favor of her on the issue of Charter change or – if she steps down in 2010 – on charges that could be filed against her.

According to Sandoval, the independence of the SC could only be ensured if the justices “decide free from any sector.”

She said justices must not only be knowledgeable of the law but also have “unquestionable moral uprightness.” – With Reinir Padua