An unprecedented opportunity

EDITORIAL

Philippine Star
November 11, 2008

Short of kicking out President Arroyo, there’s not much that the nation can do about the fact that all the seven vacancies next year in the Supreme Court will have to be filled by the appointing power, the Chief Executive. And the perpetually embattled President is unlikely to pick an appointee who is openly hostile to her.

For an unscrupulous leader, the vacancies offer an unprecedented opportunity to control the nation’s court of last resort and undermine the independence of a co-equal branch of government. For a legitimate leader who has the nation’s best interests at heart, the vacancies present an opportunity to pick the nation’s best and brightest — people who are intellectual and moral pillars — who can strengthen the nation’s weak judicial system and foster greater public confidence in the high court.

That confidence was shaken by the Supreme Court ruling on executive privilege, which can now be invoked to conceal a potential criminal act. The close SC voting in favor of the executive was handed down shortly after the appointment to the SC of Arturo Brion, formerly the President’s labor secretary, who voted to uphold the executive’s argument for silence.

Though this administration has less than two years left in power, there are still several key cases where the executive can use a favorable SC ruling. Notable among these are questions on amending the Constitution, which could pave the way for a shift in the system of government. Some quarters fear that such a shift could include the extension of the President’s stay in power.

Legal organizations have started banding together to monitor the screening of applicants to the Supreme Court. The screening will be done by the Judicial and Bar Council, but the final selection will still be done by the President. The best that the nation can hope for is that the appointees will rise beyond their debt of gratitude to the appointing power and realize their responsibility to the nation that they will be sworn to serve.

Over the years many members of the SC have shown admirable integrity and independence, serving the nation first before the interests of the appointing power. As the scandal over the Meralco-GSIS feud has shown, the judiciary itself is in crisis and needs a thorough housecleaning. Instead of compounding the problem, the new appointees to the court of last resort should be part of the solution.