'Religious' chief justice aspirant: Premarital sex is immoral

Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose Reyes, Jr., an applicant for chief justice who identifies as religious, on Wednesday expressed a stance against sex before marriage.

Retired justice Noel Tijam, a member of the Judicial Bar and Council (JBC), asked Reyes during his public interview if he would consider a Philippine law on premarital sex constitutional or unconstitutional.

The question was premised on a proposal in Indonesia to outlaw sex outside marriage, a move that Indonesian President Joko Widodo reportedly ordered delayed last September.

"For me, as a Catholic, it's immoral for two people to engage in premarital sex," Reyes said, explaining that sex before marriage is "violative of moral law."

Reyes is the most junior of the four SC justices vying for the post that Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin will vacate when he retires on October 18.

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Reyes, a former Court of Appeals justice, to the high court last year. Reyes will retire next year.

"A relationship between a man and a woman should end with marriage, Your Honor, meaning even as an individual I would not allow a relationship that is not based on law even moral or civil law, Your Honor, and canon law," the justice said.

"It may, it may not be appropriate, Your Honor, or it may not be legal to have a relationship without the benefit of a blessing or without a benefit of compliance with the law."

Although Reyes said declaring how he would vote on any case challenging a hypothetical Philippine law banning premarital sex would be "premature," he suggested that two consenting adults living together may constitute adultery or concubinage.

Asked by Tijam if he could think of a constitutional provision on premarital sex, he said: "Right now, Your Honor, I have no idea if there's.... but as far as the Family Code is concerned, Your Honor, the Family Code protects marriage."

Reyes said his religiosity has contributed to his professional success, telling the JBC that his membership in religious organizations "constitutes a shield against corruption, shield against wrongdoings."

He said he serves as a lay minister for an hour on Sundays, attends prayer meetings of Couples for Christ twice a month, and sits as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Knights of Columbus.

"My religiosity has helped me a lot in pursuing my career in the judiciary, meaning, by religiosity, it's my love for God and my love for country," he said.

Reyes is up against Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Estela Perlas Bernabe, and Andres Reyes, Jr. for the chief justice post.

Along with the rest of the High Court, Reyes voted to dismiss a petition for the legalization of same-sex marriages because the petitioner lacked standing, violated the hierarchy of courts, and failed to raise a justiciable controversy.

He also voted in favor of retroacting Republic Act No. 10592, the expanded law on good conduct time allowances, which may lead to early freedom for inmates who comply with prison rules and regulations. —KBK, GMA News