“There is a higher court than courts of justice
and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.” Mahatma Gandhi
By Alex P. Vidal
A checkmate. And a big slap on the face of
Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno!
That’s how many fellow Ilonggos viewed the
sudden turn of events in the nomination of Atty. Francis H. Jardeleza for the
position of Supreme Court associate justice.
You don’t put a good man down. So goes the
popular dictum for victims of slanderous attacks.
Only hours after Jardeleza won his battle in the
Supreme Court when the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) disqualified him for the
position of Supreme Court associate justice, President Benigno S. Aquino III
pulled a rabbit in his hat by appointing Jardeleza, 64, to the position vacated
by Associate Justice Roberto Abad, who retired last May 22.
Jardeleza’s appointment came a week after
Malacanang ordered the JBC to reinstate his nomination after being ousted on
opposition of Sereno, one of the six JBC members, who challenged his integrity
as a nominee during JBC’s last voting on June 30.
Many observers believed Sereno's opposition was
more of an act of personal vengeance.
She and Jardeleza, both former professors in the
University of the Philippines-Diliman College of Law, reportedly had a past
spat.
As JBC chair, Sereno probably found the golden
chance to bamboozle the top-notch jurist from Jaro, Iloilo City.
But Jardeleza's redemption came on August
19.
The Supreme Court, voting 7-4, elected to grant
Jardeleza’s petition for certiori and mandamus against the JBC, Sereno, the JBC
chair and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa.
PETITION
The petition sought to put on hold Mr. Aquino’s
selection of the 15th high court justice until Jardeleza is on the short list.
The JBC earlier disqualified Jardeleza after
Sereno invoked Rule 10, Section 2, of the JBC rules with a provision that “when
the integrity of an applicant who is not otherwise disqualified for nomination
is raised or challenged, the affirmative vote of all the members of the Council
must be obtained for the favorable consideration of his nomination.”
We repeatedly described Sereno’s tactic as “an
equivalent to a knockout punch in boxing” in our two previous articles.
Sereno was apparently hell-bent to block
Jardeleza’s entry in the higher court as manifested by her strong stand when
she doubted the Ilonggo jurist’s integrity.
When everything seemed hopeless after
Jardeleza’s disqualification, President Aquino halted the guessing game.
It became apparent that Jardeleza was the apple
of the president’s eyes.
In the end, the king outsmarted the queen.
President Aquino castled on the side of the outstanding Ilonggo aspirant,
leaving Jardeleza’s tormentor-turned-chamber boss Sereno counting the stars!
Fighting on wobbly legs in the opening game,
Jardeleza was rescued by President Aquino in the middle game in a “queen’s
gambit” attack.
The brilliant Iloilo lawyer checkmated Sereno in
the end game.
APPOINTMENT
On the day the report came out that Jardeleza
was against removed from the shortlist of the final four nominees, President
Aquino released Jardeleza’s appointment, to wit:
“Pursuant to the provisions of existing laws,
you are hereby appointed ASSOCIATE JUSTICE of the SUPREME COURT (vice Hon.
Roberto A. Abad). By virtue hereof, you may qualify or enter upon the
performance of the duties of the office, furnishing this Office and the Civil
Service Commission with copies of your oath of office.”
Mr. Aquino signed the document August 19, 2014.
Jardeleza was deputy ombudsman for Luzon before
Mr. Aquino appointed him solicitor general last February 2012.
Jardeleza’s appointment to the Supreme Court is
a poetic justice.
It also served as the biggest embarrassment on
the part of Sereno, who will now share the same chamber with the man she never
wanted to be an officemate.
No comments:
Post a Comment