Noel Tijam bows out of Supreme Court

Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Noel Tijam, who wrote the decision ousting Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, on Monday said he is confident the tribunal is in "capable hands" after his  retirement over the weekend.

President Rodrigo Duterte's second appointee to the high court, Tijam reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 last January 5 and attended its flag ceremony Monday to thank colleagues and staff.

Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang, the newest member of the bench, attended the institution's weekly flag rites for the first time on the same day.

In his speech, Tijam said his appointment to the SC has been a "thrilling and enriching experience" and that leaving it "almost feels like leaving home."

"To everyone here in the Court, I leave here knowing that the Court is in capable hands," he said.

"People always say that the judiciary is passive, but if there is anything that my two-year stint here in the Supreme Court has shown me, it is that all of... are watchful and vigilant in protecting all the ideals that this institution stands for."

Last Friday, Tijam was honored at a retirement ceremony where he was given the Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Award and several tokens representing the judiciary.

In a speech during the ceremony, Tijam acknowledged public criticism of court actions, but lamented that "oftentimes, these opinions are given evidently without those persons having actually read the Court's decisions."

While the SC, he said, is not one to engage in public debate, Tijam asserted that its decisions is its rebuttal to "unfair criticism."

"In this day and age when everyone seems to have an opinion and when great institutions are so recklessly maligned and ridiculed, I am confident that the Supreme Court will remain strong because the best antidote to falsehood and fallacy are truth and reason which the Court has never denied the public," he said.

In light of such criticism, Tijam urged the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the official organization of all Philippine lawyers, to refrain from publicly criticizing court decisions and from signing and publishing manifestos.

It can be recalled that the IBP stood against the quo warranto action that succeeded in removing Sereno from the Office of the Chief Justice.

"They are not advocates of propagandists of causes but keepers of the public faith in the courts' capacity to render just decisions," Tijam said of the IBP.

Additionally, the retired justice said that apart from intellect, a good judge should have "sound judicial temperament" and be an effective leader.

"We certainly do not want a spectacle of a judge going ballistic over a decision of this Court, or behaving like a petulant child when she does not get a desired courtroom."

He also cautioned against "arrogance" and "self-importance" among judges, and urged the Judicial and Bar Council to ensure that candidates for judicial posts undergo a "comprehensive and reliable" psychological examination.

Finally, he called on the public to "have faith" in the SC, claiming that it has set processes and programs ensuring transparency, accountability, and the speedy resolution of cases. — RSJ, GMA News