SolGen Jardeleza’s uphill climb to the Supreme Court

For Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, his last-minute appointment to the Supreme Court did not come easy. It was an uphill journey marked by a highly-publicized squabble with the highest judicial official in the land, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Malacañang on Wednesday confirmed Jardeleza's appointment as the country's 173rd SC associate justice, an announcement made a day after the tribunal itself made a last-minute ruling granting Jardeleza's plea to be included in the shortlist of candidates to replace retired SC Associate Justice Roberto Abad.

The SC ruling came a day before President Benigno Aquino III's deadline to look for Abad's successor. The Constitution gives the President 90 days to choose for a replacement. The SC would later reveal that Jardeleza's appointment was made on the same day the SC came out with its ruling, which is August 19.

From the very start, it was apparent how Jardeleza coveted the SC post — he called Sereno's attention when he learned that she was trying to block his inclusion in the shortlist due to alleged integrity issues.

At first, he asked the screening body — the Judicial and Bar Council— not to allow Sereno to take part in the shortlist voting, a request that was denied.

The JBC ended up picking four candidates, including Commission on Audit chair Grace Pulido Tan, a strong contender for the post. Jardeleza was not one of them.

As if one SC heavyweight was not enough, Sereno was backed by Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who also rebuked the idea of giving an SC seat to Jardeleza. Carpio faulted Jardeleza for his alleged unfavorable position on the Philippine claim over the West Philippine Sea.

Against all odds, Jardeleza still decided to challenge his oppositors and took up the case before the high tribunal, which, through a vote of 7-4 on Tuesday, ordered the JBC to include him in the shortlist despite the objections of Sereno and Carpio, who did not take part in the SC voting.

Quick to react to the SC ruling, Malacañang worked out Jardeleza's appointment papers the very same day. Interestingly, the Palace, despite being named by Jardeleza as a respondent in his SC petition, sided with him and said he was not given due process when he was eased out of the shortlist.

As solicitor general

Aquino appointed Jardeleza as the government's top lawyer in February 2012, replacing Jose Anselmo Cadiz.

Jardeleza, who turns 65 next month, can consider his appointment as an early and at the same time long overdue birthday present. After all, he had unsuccessfully tried to secure an SC post two times already.

The first one was when he applied for either of the two SC posts vacated with the successive retirements of Associate Justices Antonio Eduardo Nachura and Conchita Carpio-Morales. The second one was when he tried securing leadership of the SC after Chief Justice Renato Corona's ouster in 2012. The post eventually went to Sereno.

He had one other successful bid at the JBC, in 2010, when he was shortlisted and eventually appointed as Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon in 2011, a post he held until he was made solicitor general the following year.

History

Even before the current spat between them, Sereno and Jardeleza had a long history, dating back to their days as faculty members at the UP College of Law.

Jardeleza has been lecturing in UP since 1993, while Sereno was a UP law professor for almost two decades before joining the judiciary.
 
In fact, earlier reports showed that Sereno's objection was due to her and Jardeleza's alleged differences while still teaching at UP.
 
Jardeleza said he has no "personal differences" with the chief justice back in their UP Law days, but recalled an instance when he supported the deanship of incumbent UP Law Dean Danny Concepcion.
 
"I stood up to speak against what I called teachers who do not teach, meaning teachers who do not attend classes, teachers who do not correct test papers or who do not finish the course, the syllabus," Jardeleza had recently said.
 
"I am proud I stood by and with Danny Concepcion, now you see the results. UP has very good results in the Bar Exams," he said, emphasizing that this year, the law school produced five topnotchers.
 
Asked if Sereno had been supporting the deanship of Concepcion's rival at the time, Jardeleza said: "I do not know. You ask her."
 
Jardeleza lamented there were UP law professors who take as long as two years before handing out grades to their students. "When you delay the grade, some teachers can play God at the last semester," he said.
 
Jardeleza said it was actually these professors, and not him, who have "integrity issues.”
 
"I don't know if people hold grudges against me. But I don't think there is an integrity issue. Those who do not teach have an integrity issue or they are unethical. Tumatanggap sila ng suweldo sa gobyerno, hindi naman sila [nagtatrabaho]," he said.

Jardeleza as a professor

Jardeleza himself boasts of a long history of teaching in UP, focusing on Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure and Administrative Law, and Commercial Law. UP itself was his alma mater, earning his law degree as salutatorian/cum laude in 1974. He placed third in the Bar exams, then went in to take his Masters of Law at the Law Harvard School.

He initially joined Angara Abello Concepcion Regala and Cruz (ACCRALAW), then eventually led his own law firm, either in solo practice or as a partner. In 1996, he became senior vice president and general counsel for San Miguel Corporation until he decided to join the government.

As solicitor general, Jardeleza has faced the SC several times to defend the government over what are considered as the most controversial and highly-contested government measures under the Aquino administration.

Last year, Jardeleza stood before the tribunal to defend during separate oral arguments the legality of the Cybercrime Prevention Act, the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act, and the Priority Development Assistance fund system. —KBK, GMA News