‘Employees’ oppose Sandiganbayan chief’s bid for Supreme Court seat

Alleged concerned employees of the Sandiganbayan have opposed the candidacy of the anti-graft court's chief for a seat in the Supreme Court (SC) bench.

Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang has been accused of "playing favorites" by allegedly throwing a retirement party for a court official without en banc authorization, her Wednesday interview by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) revealed.

However, Cabotaje-Tang said the opposition is of the same subject as an administrative matter against her that has already been dismissed by the high court.

Last July, the SC dismissed a letter-complaint against the Sandiganbayan chief for being "devoid of merit." It decided the letter was unverified and wanting in evidence and its authors of "dubious" identity.

The high court cited a statement by the Sandiganbayan Employees Association (SEA) disclaiming that the letter-complaint originated from one of its members. The group also denied it has a member named Rudy Antonio, the purported letter sender.

During the JBC interview, Cabotaje-Tang explained that the retirement party -- allegedly for executive clerk of court Renato Bocar, who she said has served for 25 to 30 years -- was a committee decision and not a "unilateral act of mine."

She reiterated the SEA's disowning of the letter-complaint. "Maybe there are some or one disgruntled person in the court. But, as they say, you cannot please everyone," she said.

When asked by retired judge Toribio Ilao, a JBC member, about her alleged lack of leadership and poor relationship with her colleagues, she agreed that she must be adept of both adjudicative and administrative parts of her job.

"That's what my position as a presiding justice demands," she said.

Former President Benigno Aquino III appointed Cabotaje-Tang as presiding justice of the Sandiganbayan in 2013, when she was its youngest member.

Ilao asked what gave her the courage to apply for an SC post in light of President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of adherence to the tradition of seniority in appointing justices.

To this, Cabotaje-Tang said she has been in government for 38 years, more than 30 of which she spent at the Office of the Solicitor General as a litigator for the government. This and her six years in the judiciary have "adequately equipped" her for an SC post, she said.

Cabotaje-Tang is up against 18 other applicants for the SC associate justice seat to be vacated by Justice Noel Tijam, who will retire on January 5, 2019. — RSJ, GMA News