EDITORIAL— Picking the next CJ

Among the most consequential appointments a president can make is that of the chief justice. President Marcos has this chance as Alexander Gesmundo reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 and bows out as Chief Justice this Nov. 6.

While the judiciary does not have the kind of egregious corruption scandal that has exploded in Congress, the country’s judicial system has long drawn criticism for corruption, political accommodation, inefficiency and snail-paced proceedings. 

Such problems have led to a common lament about the Philippines having the best justice that money can buy, with one type of justice for the rich and powerful and another for the poor. “Hoodlums in robes” and “fix-cals” have been part of the Pinoy lexicon for decades.

Reforms in the legal system must be initiated by the Supreme Court, which has exclusive disciplinary power over members of the judiciary and administers the courts. SC members can be removed only by impeachment.

Judges and justices are outside the jurisdiction of the Office of the Ombudsman, and the repository of their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth is the SC. The high tribunal has led in refusing to make public its members’ SALN.

A provision in the 1987 Constitution has allowed the Supreme Court to intervene in anything in government that may constitute “grave abuse of discretion.” The SC’s exercise of this power has led several presidents to complain about “judicial overreach.”

In the latest controversies, the SC drew flak for intervening in the impeachment process at the House of Representatives, issuing a ruling that was seen to be self-serving for impeachable SC members.

This year the SC’s First Division also came under fire for effectively rolling back its own en banc ruling in 2003. The division reversed the conviction of President Marcos’ mother Imelda by the Sandiganbayan on seven counts of graft related to the family’s Swiss bank deposits that have been officially declared as ill-gotten.

Two members of the SC First Division, including the author or ponente, are among the five candidates for the next chief justice. If either of them gets the post, it will inevitably be seen as a reward from the only son of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.

The two justices may find such perceptions unfair, but all three branches of government are suffering from credibility problems in varying degrees and need to regain public trust.

Even the President’s “mahiya naman kayo” shame campaign is now seen to have failed, in the light of the 2027 budget bill that the House has passed. The President may want to invest in credibility through his choices for the Supreme Court.