Day one interview: JBC screens first 6 'outsider' aspirants to CJ post 25-Jul-12, 12:08 AM | InterAksyon.

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MANILA, Philippines - The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Tuesday started the screening of six of the 22 aspirants for the chief justice post that was vacated by Renato Corona after he was ousted last May 29 by the Senate impeachment court. During the public interview, the candidates, who were all outsiders, took turns in convincing the JBC of their qualifications to become the next chief magistrate. De Lima Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima said that if she becomes the next chief justice, she would maintain her judicial independence by not becoming beholden to President Benigno Aquino III. De Lima emphasized her strength of character as a leader, which she thinks is something innate. "I tend to be really passionate and I tend to put so much zeal and dedication on all assignments that is given to me. Its the strength of character, maybe its in the genes." The DOJ chief also defended her action against the temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court last year that favored former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. "I did not defy the TRO. It was a matter of the former president hurriedly and prematuredly wanting to leave." The 52-year-old De Lima doesn't think that her "youth will pose a disadvantage" to her being a chief justice. If appointed, she would rule the high court for 18 years until the mandatory retirement age of 70. "I will have the energy and dynamism to respond and to attend to the needed reforms. My being young would afford me the opportunity to re-establish values of consistency, predictability, stability which are hallmarks of a strong justice system, she said. Diokno For his part, aspirant Jose Manuel Diokno proposed reforms to restore the people's faith in the judiciary. He cited the four-point reforms for judicial transparency, public accountability, less "flip-flopping" decisions, particularly on cases with final decision, and faster and cheaper justice. On judicial transparency, Diokno said it is important that the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth be open to the public.

On public accountability, he said it is significant that there should be a system wherein it can be determined that those who have been convicted are really serving their jail sentence in the penitentiary. Diokno also vowed to pursue amendments in the Rules of Court to protect the whistle blowers and the witnesses. On faster and cheaper justice, he said he would work for additional funds for the judges and court staff. Diokno said that his judicial philosophy will concentrate on the delivery of justice and finding ways and means to make justice real to the masses. If appointed Chief Justice, he said he would like to see that law students should be required to render free legal aid, especially to the poor communities. Diokno expressed the belief the concept of justice is something concrete not just a lofty ideal, something people can feel in their hands, and that, for Diokno, that will be the greatest legacy. On the impact of the impeachment of Corona, Diokno said it did not affect nor diminish the independence of the Judiciary, especially so that the people are seeking transparency not only in the executive branch but even in the judiciary. Diokno said he is also a judicial activist, adding that his philosophy is to focus on human rights. Diokno, 51, is the founding dean of the Dela Salle University College of Law, chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group, and former special counsel of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, and a human rights lawyer. Legarda Meanwhile, lawyer Katrina Legarda, who especializes in family law and an advocate of children and women's rights, said that she did not really intend to become a chief justice but nonetheless took up her nomination because she did not want to let down her endorsers. Legarda, currently senior vice president and chief legal counsel of the Government Service Insurance System, said that if she would become chief justice, her first act would be to reorganize the Office of the Court Administrator to fast-track the disposition of complaints against judges and court personnel. She thinks that the moral ascendancy of the chief justice "is not necessarily among his co-equals in the high court but those below" the high tribunal.

"I cannot have moral ascendancy over persons who are equal to me if I were Chief Justice. I can certainly ask them to help me rebuild this very tattered reputation that the judiciary has right now and I think all of them will be interested and concerned in making the judiciary a truly co-equal branch of the government, Legarda said. Bautista Andres Bautista, chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, underscored the importance of overhauling the justice system, which he described as "ineffective, inefficient, and inadequate." Bautista said the high court should prioritize the hiring of the best and brightest lawyers who could be enticed to join the judiciary as the avenue for dispensing justice and not just for practicing law. He said that the high court's operations could be improved if it would open up and receive constructive feedbacks. "The time of being cloistered and the time of being like a hermit is gone. Even the Pink Sisters and the Trappist Monks of Guimaras also use text....The gods of Padre Faura are more human and less divine, said Bautista. Bautista, 48, favors the imposition of a seven-year term limit among the magistrates of the high court. If appointed, he said he would be willing to sign a waiver that he would only stay in the Supreme Court for seven years. He said reforms in the juduiciary should continue to be carried out. "Insofar as we ensure that credibility is restored, to my mind the solution is changing culture, changing attitude and changing mindset. That the court should be more transparent."

De Castro Soledad Cagampang-de Castro, a lawyer and law professor, stressed the importance of ethics to fight corruption in the judiciary. "I think there is a need to go back to the teaching or imbibing of values. We should have continuous training in law school in ethics." De Castro, 67, said that in her 11 years of teachingn in various law schools, she found out that many law students, especially those who were not from renowned schools and already have their careers, did not take subjects in logic, ethics, and philosophy.

"These are the basic values, the subjects that imbibe, that teach you the values of good lawyers," she said, adding that if the high court wants to produce good lawyers, it should include these in the curriculum. Jardeleza For his part, Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, who served as general counsel for San Miguel Corporation (SMC), said that if he would be appointed as chief justice, he would inhibit himself from cases involving the company. "If ever I will be blessed with the Chief Justice position, I will inhibit in all San Miguel cases, he said, adding that he believes that the coco-levy funds, partly controlled by the SMC, belong to the farmers. Jardeleza said that the "best way for Supreme Court to bring itself closer to the people is to have decisions perceived to be fair and logical." Even if he's an outsider, he said that he would be able to work harmoniously with the magistrates of the high court. "I will approach my new colleagues with just one formula: humility." If appointed, Jardeleza said that he "would like to be remembered as a chief justice that exhibited rectitude" and a leader that ensured the function of the high court as the "guardian of the rule of law." - Lorenz Neil Santos, Robert JA Basilio, InterAksyon.com and Philippine News Agency