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A VETERAN legislator is determined to clip portions of the powers
vested on the President by seeking amendments to the Constitution to
free the judiciary branch from “any presidential and political
interference,” which may lead to questionable decisions from the
High Tribunal and a possible Constitutional crisis.
House Deputy Minority Leader Roilo Golez
formally filed a resolution seeking to amend Article VIII, Sections
8 and 9 of the 1987 Constitution, which gives the President the
power to appoint members of the Supreme Court and regular members of
the Judicial and Bar Council, which is tasked to recommend
appointees to the Judiciary.
Since President Gloria Arroyo assumed power in
2001, she managed to appoint at least 12 of the 15 members of the
Supreme Court.
Golez said transferring the said powers to the
Supreme Court en banc will surely dispel speculations that unseen
hands from the Palace are behind the crucial decision on vital
issues.
“This will make the Supreme Court and the rest
of the Judiciary self-perpetuating and truly independent [because]
the selection and appointment process [is] devoid of any
presidential and political interference,” he said in his
explanatory notes.
The Parañaque lawmaker said he would be
proposing that the power to appoint members of the Supreme Court and
judges of the lower courts be left to the High Court sitting en
banc.
A Code of Conduct prescribing “social
aloofness” of the members of the Judiciary must also be issued to
prevent them from “too much fraternizing” with different sectors
of society.
To ensure that officials who will be installed
as new magistrates are free from political influence, Golez said
that public officials who held elective positions from mayor and
above, and any Cabinet or sub-Cabinet position through presidential
appointment should be disqualified from seeking posts in the
Judiciary.
“This will prevent any speculation that there
is bias or prejudgment on the part of members of the Judiciary, such
as is happening now with respect to members of the Supreme Court who
served the President in any senior capacity or who held partisan
political positions,” he explained.
The decision of Golez to clip the President’s
appointive powers for members of the Judiciary stems from the High
Court’s ruling in favor of former Economic and Planning Sec.
Romulo Neri’s petition, which sought to prevent the Senate from
grilling him on the alleged irregularities in the botched national
broadband network project.
-- Sammy Martin
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