Lawyers, law students join groups vs Arroyo's appointment of new chief justice
Lawyers and law students on Monday joined militant groups that marched to the Supreme Court in Manila to denounce President Gloria Macapagal Arroyoâs possible appointment of a new chief justice. The solidarity march â titled Hukuman, Ipaglaban. Midnight CJ, 'Wag Payagan â also sought to prevent the Judicial and Bar Council from submitting to President Arroyo a shortlist of nominees who are expected to replace outgoing chief magistrate Reynato Puno, who will retire on May 17. The JBC is the constitutionally-created body which vets, screens, and nominates to the President appointees to vacant judicial posts. Mrs. Arroyo could only name Punoâs replacement when the council submits a list of nominees. Under Section 15, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, the incumbent president is barred from making any appointments two months before a presidential election until the time he or she bows out of office. In this case, Mrs. Arroyo is disallowed from making any appointments from March 11 to June 30. Punoâs retirement on May 17 falls within the restricted period. In a manifesto submitted before the court and to the JBC, the groups said âthe bastard appointment of a midnight Chief Justice is an attempt by [Mrs. Arroyo] to extend her power and influence over institutions of government beyond her term of office, to the prejudice of this nation and the Judiciary in particular." âWe call on the JBC to stand its ground against the executiveâs arm-twisting," said Akbayan chair emeritus and former representative Loretta Rosales at a press conference. Malacañang had repeatedly argued there was nothing anomalous with Mrs. Arroyoâs appointment of a new chief magistrate. Her spokespersons had likewise insisted that the President has the prerogative of picking Puno's successor. The groups that took part in the march include several chapters of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, party-list groups Akbayan and Bayan Muna, the Association of Law Students of the Philippines, the Alternative Law Groups, the Supreme Courts Appointments Watch, and the National Union of Peopleâs Lawyers (NUPL). Also on Monday, the IBPâs Eastern Visayas and Southern Luzon chapters also filed a petition asking the court to issue a writ of prohibition to prevent the JBC from âsubmitting a list of nominees for the position of chief justice to the President for appointment during the period prohibited. Mondayâs activities coincided with the last JBC meeting before the ban on midnight appointments takes effect on March 11. It also coincided with the day before the Supreme Court deliberates on whether to conduct oral arguments regarding the four petitions favoring the appointment of a new chief justice by Mrs. Arroyo.