‘I deserve to be chief justice’

MANILA, Philippines – The selection of the next chief justice started yesterday, more than two weeks before the retirement of Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin on Oct. 18.

Four associate justices vying for the post were interviewed by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) in two batches: Diosdado Peralta and Jose Reyes Jr. in the morning and Andres Reyes Jr. and Estela Perlas-Bernabe in the afternoon.

“If I remember what I have experienced since I started working, mahirap eh (it’s been difficult). I think I deserve to be chief justice because I worked very hard all these years,” said Peralta, the most senior candidate. This was his third time to vie for the Supreme Court’s highest post.

Shortly after Peralta’s interview, the JBC asked Jose Reyes if he would consider a proposed measure to ban premarital sex in Bali, Indonesia as constitutional and whether it should be adopted in the Philippines.

He said premarital sex is “immoral” and that as a Catholic, he believes that “a relationship between a man and a woman should end in marriage.”

Andres Reyes said he would introduce the “broken window” policy by “making sure that all buildings are painted and CRs are cleaned. No broken windows, etcetera,” to make people feel something good is being done in the office.

Asked how he plans to fasttrack the disposition of cases, he said he would identify the cases, discuss with fellow justices and decide all cases within the 12-month period allowed by law.

Perlas-Bernabe said the first thing she would do as chief justice is to set dialogues with all stakeholders and key officials in the judiciary so that she would be able to lay down the framework of her vision.

Asked what she hated during deliberations, she said her pet peeve “is probably the senseless dissents and arguments which have no basis in law and jurisprudence.”

Under JBC rules, the council has to name at least three nominees for submission to President Duterte, who has 90 days – starting from Oct. 18 – to decide on Bersamin’s replacement.