Oh wait did I say beer?
My bad - when I saw Corona I immediately thought of the Mexican alcoholic beverage.
Renato Corona has just been sworn in as our country's 23rd Chief Justice.
To those that have criticized his appointment he only had two words to say: "Watch me."
“I am my own person. All I know is that I am here. I have been appointed this job. I assume the responsibilities as chief justice and I am going to do a good job out of it,”
“I am grateful for my appointment. But that ends there….If the party in front of us is correct then he will win the case….We will decide things and cases on the basis of the law and evidence,”
Nice words but at the moment they are merely words - and Corona admits it. That's why he wants us to watch him do his job.
I do hope what he says is true. The Supreme Court has been wishy-washy and it needs to be more responsible and dignified.
That being said he is only human and like it or not the sense of owing someone for his position will come to play.
Remember we don't have the American mentality. We have the Filipino mentality and for us when we owe someone we owe someone - "utang na loob" is what we call it.
Acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra said that "There is no longer an issue, whether legal, constitutional, moral, or political."
Yes it may b true that there is no issue legally, constitutionally, or politically but there will always be a question of it's morality.
Because like it or not it will still look to everyone that Corona's appointment was to simply pad the Supreme Court in her favor so she's protected.
Whether it's true or not remains to be seen but it is a big burden for the new Supreme Court Chief Justice, as well as the Supreme Court itself to overcome.
Time will tell, especially when Arroyo is one of the defendants.
Then we will see if the rule of law and evidence will win over "utang na loob."
Chief Justice Corona - please prove me and every naysayer out there wrong.
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The President-Elect’s position on the Corona issue is very dangerous. The Supreme Court has already ruled WITH FINALITY that President Arroyo has the power to appoint the Chief Justice to replace the Hon. Reynante Puno.
ReplyDeleteThe Supreme Court is the final arbiter on constitutional issues. So whether or not somebody agrees with a decision handed down by the Supreme Court, once a decision becomes final and executory, that decision becomes part of the law of the land.
The President-Elect’s refusal to recognize this may lead to a constitutional crisis.
Moreover, it’s quite evident that the two (2) people around the President-Elect who are the loudest advocates of the hard-ball tact on the Corona appointment — namely former Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz and former Solicitor General Simeon Marcelo, are doing so because of vested personal interests.
It is obvious that Cruz and Marcelo are vocal against the Corona appointment only because they want to see Justice Antonio Carpio — the founder of their Law Office (Carpio, Villaraza, and Cruz; now known as Villaraza, Cruz, Marcelo, and Angangco), to be chosen Chief Justice instead of Corona.
Thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteI do not dispute the finality and legality of the appointment of Corona as our new Supreme Court Chief Justice.
After all it is the right of the President to appoint the next Chief Justice should the need arise.
My position is simply that of other law advocates - that between the two constitutional provisions, one saying that judicial positions should be replaced within 90 days of vacancy and the other one preventing midnight appointments during the election period, it should be the one preventing midnight appointments that should trump the judicial appointment one, not the other way around as our current Supreme Court had declared.
After all if the writers of our current constitution wanted the judicial appointment provision to supersede the anti-midnight appointment one they should have not given the president the 90-day grace period from date of vacancy.
To my mind that broad time frame between vacancy and replacement shows that while they perceive the position as needed it is only secondary when pitted against the anti-midnight appointment provision.
If they wanted they could have said within 15 or even 30 days and it would have given it that sense of urgency.
At the same time I am also disappointed with the Supreme Court that they will only exempt themselves from the anti-midnight appointment provision - and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
For the sake of not casting any doubt on the selection process the Supreme Court should just have waited until the next president took over to have a new Chief Justice sworn in.
After all it wouldn't have been that much of a stretch and the need to have a complete court does not seem that paramount when compared to the election of the next leader of our nation.
As for President Aquino's position vis-a-vis Chief Justice Corona - it does set a dangerous precedent and hopefully it doesn't go as far as a constitutional crisis.
Right now, whether we like it or not, the Corona issue is secondary to what our country is facing right now.