Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Group seeks disqualification of Devanadera, Robles
THE nominations of Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera and businessman Rodolfo Robles, both identified with President Arroyo, face rough sailing in the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
Watchdog group Supreme Court Appointments Watch (Scaw) on Tuesday asked Chief Justice Reynato Puno to disqualify Robles, whose family is known to have close ties with Arroyo, from being considered as nominee to the SC because of his advanced age.
Devanadera, who has long made known her intention to be a member of the tribunal, is again among the 14 nominees vying for the slot to be vacated by Associate Justice Ruben Reyes, who will hang his robe two weeks earlier his mandatory retirement age of 70 on January 3, 2009.
Aside from Reyes, six other SC magistrates will retire, namely: Adolfo Azcuna, Dante Tinga, Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Leonardo Quisumbing, and Minita Chico-Nazario. The seventh, Alicia Austria-Martinez, will opt for early retirement in April.
Of the seven retiring, Santiago and Quisumbing were not appointed by Arroyo. Before the end of 2009, Arroyo would then have the unprecedented opportunity of appointing all members of the high court.
Puno, who was appointed by Arroyo as Chief Justice in December 2006, will retire May 2010, a month before the President ends her term. His replacement would then have to be appointed by the next president.
Puno is the ex-officio chairman of the JBC, a body supervised by the SC that searches, screens, and recommends nominees to vacant judicial posts for the President's appointment.
In a letter to Puno, Scaw spokesman Marlon Manuel said data submitted by Robles to the JBC showed that he was born July 1, 1943, which makes his 65 years and four months old, thus making him disqualified to take up the post.
Rule 8, Section 2 of the Rules of the JBC states that "in the selection of nominees to a vacancy in the SC, the Council must consider his age with a view to discourage appointment of those who would not be able to serve it for a reasonably sufficient time."
The provision further stated that the JBC "shall not consider for nomination non-career and career applicants who may no longer be able to serve the court for at least five years, or for at least one and one-half years, respectively, before reaching the compulsory age of retirement."
Citing this provision, Manuel said Robles would no longer be able to serve the SC for at least five years if appointed.
In the case of Devanadera, Scaw said the solicitor general is still hounded by a pending Ombudsman case filed by National Security Council deputy director Luis "Chavit" Singson, when the latter was still governor of Ilocos Sur.
Manuel said data, which Devanadera submitted to the JBC showed that the Ombudsman has yet to issue a resolution dismissing the case.
Under Rule 4 Sec. 5 of the JBC rules, those with pending criminal or regular administrative cases are "disqualified from being nominated for appointment to any judicial post or as Ombudsman or Deputy Ombudsman."
On October 11, 2006, Singson charged Devanadera along with 42 other authorities from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Bulk Handlers Inc. (BHI), and Poro-Poro Point Industrial Corp. (PPIC) in connection with the alleged anomalous supervision and operation of the Poro Point Special Economic and Freeport Zone in San Fernando, La Union.
Singson cited Devanadera in his complaint for her failure to nullify the Poro Point development contract between BHI and BCDA.
Sought for reaction, Devanadera said: "I disclosed that on my application. That's part of their advocacy. I have a job to do, they also have a job to do."
But Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr., a regular member of the JBC, agreed that the case against Devanadera is a setback but said the case should be looked into to determine whether it was filed merely to harass her.
"There are many cases filed just to harass candidates. That's the fastest way to stop a candidate," he said in a media interview.
Gonzalez said that if the Ombudsman issues a resolution finding Devanadera guilty of graft right after she was selected by the JBC and was eventually appointed by the President as justice, then she would have to be impeached.
He also said there was nothing wrong with certain candidates lobbying with the JBC for their selection, adding that this is all part of the process. Nor is there anything wrong with so-called pressure groups contesting the candidacy of certain people.
"That is the right of people to organize. Problem there is there are so many groups that came out, we don't even know if they are registered with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). Just like God said when three people are gathered together, He is in their midst," he said.
But Scaw and its sister organization, the Transparency and Accountability Network, said they are "curious" that the JBC has not disqualified Devanadera and Robles outright despite their obvious ineligibility for the post.
"This kind of oversight raises serious doubts about the rigor of the screening process. Justice Gregory Ong's recall should have been a wake up call for the JBC in terms of their screening and evaluation process," the group said, referring to the botched appointment of the Sandiganbayan justice to the SC due to questions regarding his status as a natural-born Filipino, a requirement for the position.
This came along after Ong made it to the shortlist of the JBC that was submitted to President Arroyo. (ECV/Sunnex)
