JBC: Still a Palace adjunct EDITORIAL 08/17/2010

JBC: Still a Palace adjunct

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 08/17/2010 Noynoy Aquino, so said his propagandists, chose new Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, a court outsider, purely based on her credentials and that he did not know her personally. Malacañang has taken pains to state that Aquino does not know Sereno personally even if they were schoolmates at the Ateneo de Manila University.  Maybe so. But it is usual in Ateneo, for Ateneans know each other, whether juniors or seniors. It’s that tightly knit among Atenistas. The issue, however, is why Noynoy Aquino, according to a recent report, asked the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the body that submits to Malacañang the list of justices from which the President makes his choice, to add more to the list of three nominees it had submitted to him. Under the Constitution, whenever a vacancy in the high court occurs, the JBC is constitutionally bound to submit to Malacañang a list of at least three nominees from which the President is to select one. This was not followed by Noynoy, as he wanted a new list.  Apparently, in this specific case, the JBC submitted to Noynoy Aquino a list of three SC nominees, but Aquino reportedly wanted more names from the JBC, which is why the second list of nominees from the JBC had six names, from which Sereno, who apparently was last choice with the JBC, with a vote of only four was therefore not included in the first list of three nominees, but was now included in the second list of six.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100817com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL JBC: Still a Palace adjunct FRONTLINE No hope for credibility FEATURE Kabul’s frustrated expats run the streets NO HOLDS BARRED An open letter to P-Noy AN OUTSIDERS VIEW A mad desire to read focus Obama policy feeds violence on Kabul’s doorstep FEATURE Petraeus holds out prospect of reconciliation with Taliban