Making the odd even Written by Tribune Editorial Thursday, 21 August 2014 00:00 font size decrease font size increase font size Print Be the first to comment! The appointment of Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza to the vacant slot in the 15-seat Supreme Court brought a lot of propriety-related questions, including his expected role amid the current imbroglio between the Palace and the SC over the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) ruling. The Palace has a pending motion for reconsideration on the DAP that the Tribunal in a ruling said was created unconstitutionally. Jardeleza was a late addition to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) shortlist of nominees submitted to Aquino and it took an SC en banc resolution which appears as a concession to the Palace for Jardeleza to barge into the lineup of hopefuls for the SC post. Obviously, Noynoy knows where Jardeleza’s heart lies when it comes to the DAP since it was he, as SolGen, who had defended the money pool, rather unsuccessfully, during the SC deliberations on it. Initial bets were initially put on Commission on Audit (CoA) chairman Grace Pulido-Tan to clinch the SC seat left vacant by Associate Justice Roberto Abad’s retirement last May. It could have been Tan, but knowing the vindictive nature of Noynoy, Jardeleza was probably appointed to the high court to give his appointed Chief Justice a slap in her face, for what he saw as her betrayal by not defending the DAP. Tan is similarly a controversial official in the Aquino administration whose stint at the CoA was instrumental in the detention of three opposition senators. It was a selective and highly biased CoA report on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) covering 2007 to 2009 which was used as key evidence in the filing of plunder charges against Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. Jardeleza likely edged out Tan in what can be considered as maximum utility for the Palace as a result of its all-out campaign to salvage the DAP and nullify the SC decision. The three opponents are all behind bars while the DAP remains in a state of limbo as a result of the Palace motion of reconsideration filed with the SC. The Palace acknowledges the effort to redefine savings in Congress will render the SC ruling ineffective and similarly the requirement in the SC order for accountability of the authors and implementors of the DAP. Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who posed questions on the inclusion of Jardeleza in the shortlist, inhibited themselves from voting in the SC decision that granted Jardeleza a spot in the JBC list. The next day, Noynoy announced the appointment of Jardeleza to the SC as Associate Justice, which was an indication on how desperate he is in changing the equation at the SC to possibly tilt its decision in favor of the DAP. His allies and members of his economic team in the Cabinet seem also one in introducing legislations if not an outright amendment in the Constitution to clip the powers of the SC. The Palace may have also achieved a goal of driving a wedge among the SC magistrates in the process as reflected in a resolution that accompanies the order for Jardeleza to be considered a candidate in the vacant SC post. The SC ordered the JBC to review its rules Resolution 009 which states that a nominee whose integrity is being questioned should get a “unanimous vote” from the JBC, as well as Resolution 010 which allows a candidate to submit a comment or explanation on the complaint against him. Both resolutions were used to block Jardeleza from the JBC shortlist. The SC pointed out that the JBC must make sure that the principle of due process is being followed in its proceedings, which strangely was very close to the argument posed by the Palace in seeking SC intervention on the fate of Jardeleza. A rift in the SC would only work in favor of the Palace efforts to weaken it. And all in the furtherance of Noynoy’s access to pork barrel funds. The irony of it all is that associate SC Justice Jardeleza will have to recuse himself on this DAP MR. tribune.net.ph/commentary/editorial/making-the-odd-even
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 14:43:45 +0000
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