The Palace denied allegations of a conspiracy among various institutions regarding the nomination of Justice Secretary Leila De Lima amid a pending disbarment case against her that could disqualify her from being chosen as the next Chief Justice.

“Well, if there’s any suggestion that there is collusion, we would like to say there is none. Iba-iba hong institusyon ‘yung gumagalaw diyan: ‘yung [Integrated Bar of the Philippines], ‘yung Senado, ‘yung Mababang Kapulungan, at ‘yung [Judicial and Bar Council],” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on Tuesday in a Palace press briefing.

Valte’s statement is in reaction to allegations that De Lima—who is one of the nominees to be the next Chief Justice after Renato Corona was impeached in May—is being given special treatment as a favorite to be the next chief magistrate.

On Monday, the IBP denied De Lima’s motion to dismiss her disbarment case and also resolved to proceed with the formal investigation of the case in accordance with the rules of disbarment.

JBC academe representative Jose Mejia said she has until Thursday to have her cases dismissed, or else she will be disqualified from being chosen as a Chief Justice nominee.

However, on the same day, the Senate asked the JBC to defer its deliberations on choosing the next Chief Justice until the issue of who should represent Congress is resolved.

Under the 1987 Constitution, only “a member" from Congress is allowed to represent the institution in the JBC. Senator Francis Escudero and Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. previously sat in the JBC as chairmen of their respective houses’ justice committees.

The JBC is expected to come up with a shortlist of Chief Justice nominees on Thursday. President Benigno Aquino III will make his choice from the list by August 27.

Last Friday, De Lima submitted a seven-page letter to the JBC appealing to the body not to disqualify her from being included in its shortlist because of disbarment cases against her. De Lima said that the cases were politically motivated.

According to JBC rules, nominees for the post will be disqualified if they have criminal or administrative cases filed against them.

Valte said it is up to the JBC if it would deny De Lima her nomination.

"So depende po ‘yan sa JBC kung tatanggapin po ‘yung interpretasyon na ‘yung complaint na ‘yon ay hindi pa po full-blown administrative complaint that will constitute as a bar to her being included in supposedly the vetting and the screening. Kaya lang alam naman po nating natapos na ‘yung public interviews,” said Valte.

Valte said the Palace trusts the JBC to deal with the problems it has been facing before the 90-day deadline in the Constitution that requires Aquino to choose the next Chief Justice.

“Alam din po ng JBC ‘yung deadline na ‘yon. They are also trying to work and resolve the number of issues that do confront them today,” said Valte. “Hindi lang naman po ‘yung representation ‘yung issue today. Bahala na po sila. But we are all aware of the deadline that is set because of the 90 days in the Constitution.”

“We are also aware that all institutions that are involved in the search for the next Chief Justice are likewise very cognizant of the period that is cited in the Constitution for—the prescriptive period for the President to appoint the next Chief Justice,” she added. - BM, GMA News