Duterte: Carpio uninterested in Chief Justice post

AFTER breaking his earlier vow to observe the rule of seniority in the judiciary, President Rodrigo Duterte defended on Wednesday, November 28, his decision to appoint Lucas Bersamin as the new Chief Justice.

During the groundbreaking of Panguil Bay Bridge in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Duterte said he assumed Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, the most senior magistrate of the Supreme Court, was not interested in getting the high court's top post.

"Wala ko'y gikuha nga taga-gawas. Si Carpio, Peralta, Bersamin. Lima man ka pangalan ang ilang gihatag sa ako (I did not pick anyone else aside from the names that were given to me. Carpio, Peralta, Bersamin)," Duterte said.

"I chose Bersamin. Carpio, ingon siya niadto di siya mudawat (Carpio earlier refused the offer)," he added.

Bersamin, Carpio, and Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, and Andres Reyes Jr. were the five names included in the shortlist for the Chief Justice position earlier submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council to Duterte.

Bersamin, the third most senior in the high tribunal, won against the four magistrates vying for the top post, including Carpio.

In July, Carpio declined his nomination as the chief magistrate, as he did not want to benefit from the ouster of former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Duterte then picked De Castro in August as the new Chief Justice, based on the seniority rule.

When De Castro retired in October this year, Carpio changed his mind and decided to accept his automatic nomination for the highest position in the judiciary. He, however, failed to get Duterte's nod for the Chief Justice post.

In the same speech delivered in Lanao del Norte, Duterte also slammed Carpio for prodding him to use the arbitration ruling that favors the Philippines in its overlapping claims against China in the hotly-contested South China Sea.

The Chief Executive maintained that a hostile approach against China's sweeping claims over the disputed waters would only harm the Philippines.

"Just because you're a salutatorian, it does not mean a s*** to me. Mag-sige ka'g hanker nga atakehon nimo nang -- you do something (You keep on hankering that you'll attack the -- you do something). What do you want me to do?" he said.

"Arbitration, so I'll order my military and the police to go there in Palawan and shoot it out? It will be a massacre. O di ta madaog diha. Wala tayong ma-ano niyan (We will not win there. We won't get anything from it)," Duterte added.

Carpio was part of the Philippine delegation to the Permanent Court of Arbitration that argued and won the country’s case against China. On July 12, 2016, the arbitral tribunal ruled that China has baseless claims to nearly the entire South China Sea.

Carpio has repeatedly called on the Duterte administration to insist on the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the South China Sea, but Duterte refused to heed the associate justice's call.

In a chance interview with Palace reporters, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Carpio's differing stance on the sea disputes has nothing to do with his failure to secure the Chief Justice post.

Panelo explained that Duterte merely thought that Carpio did not want the highest position in the judiciary.

"In the first place, the justice (Carpio) then declined nomination for the reason that he did not want to take advantage of the ouster of Sereno. So following the same logic, he should also decline the nomination now kasi ganoon din 'yun because the ouster of Sereno triggered vacancies (because it's the same, Sereno's ouster triggered the vacancies)," he said.

"Even nga for the second round. What I'm saying is when you follow his logic, it will apply to every vacancy kasi 'yun ang nag-trigger eh (because that's what triggered it). Kung hindi na-oust si Sereno, ade wala tayong Chief Justice. Siya ang forever Chief Justice until she retires," he added.

(Even for the second round. What I'm saying is when you follow his logic, it will apply to every vacancy because that's what triggered it. If Sereno was not ousted, there will be no appointments of Chief Justice. She will be the forever Chief Justice until she retires.) (SunStar Philippines)