Charter provision for Judicial and Bar Council must be reviewed

One of the surprise public discoveries from the exhaustive and exhausting House committee hearings on the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is that the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is far from effective as a filter for screening and recommending appointees to the judiciary.

The council is a creation of the 1987 Constitution, and is distinct from the provisions of the 935 and 1973 Constitutions for the appointment of members of the judiciary.