A dilemma for Justice Secretary Leila de Lima if she gets to be appointed as chief justice and the same goes for President Aquino should he choose someone from the roster of Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) known to be closely associated with him, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago yesterday said.
Some of De Lima’s questioned moves in the Department of Justice (DoJ) will surely hound her in the Supreme Court, if and when she gets the highest seat in the judiciary, the senator said, citing in particular the issue when the Cabinet official defied the high tribunal’s temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the department from implementing the travel ban against the Arroyo couple in 2011.
“I will say that my eyebrows rose to the ceiling when the secretary of Justice outright refused to obey a TRO because law students are taught that when the Supreme Court issues a TRO, (it) is like God has issued a mandate to obey immediately,” Santiago told a news forum in the Senate.
“That could be a reason for questioning her. Let’s just see her explain this. If she becomes Chief Justice and under her the Supreme Court issues a TRO and someone refuses to obey it using the same grounds then she will certainly be in a dilemma,” she added.
“It will be very, very difficult,” the senator stressed.
Santiago was one of those who criticized De Lima for refusing to heed the SC order against enforcing the DoJ directives which placed in the country’s watch list order former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo and former First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo.
Santiago recalled De Lima’s argument then that she did not follow the TRO because she did not get a copy on time.
De Lima has denied that she had defied the SC’s order using the dissenting opinion of known appointee of President Aquino, Associate Justice Lourdes Sereno, in which the latter said the TRO issued by the majority justices was conditional since one of the three conditions imposed was not met by the lawyers of the Arroyo couple.
De Lima insisted on this matter despite the fact that the dissenting opinion came a day or so after the SC already ordered the Bureau of Immigration to stop the enforcement of the DoJ directive.
The Justice chief argued that the Nov. 15, 2011 TRO was not yet effective on said day for lack of proper service to respondent and counsel and that it was not a simple TRO but based on conditionalities effective immediately and subject to compliance.
De Lima is among the appointees of Aquino who was nominated and accepted the nomination to the JBC on being the next country’s chief magistrate.
The senator was quick to point out that she is actually rooting for a female chief justice, a first, if it happens in the history of the country.
“I have, in fact, a certain person in mind. Of course, my priority would be a female simply because we never had a female chief justice but there is another public official who I think fits my requirements for non-controversial character. So, we cannot afford more controversy after the impeachment,” she said.
Santiago was among only three senators who voted to acquit then Chief Justice Renato Corona in the impeachment trial.
Santiago made the same assessment insofar as the President is concerned, saying the administration is “in a dilemma there if he appoints a person too closely associated with the President.”
“Then, people will say that the impeachment trial was just a melodrama. It was implemented to remove somebody in favor of somebody better-controlled by Malacañang,” she stressed.
“There is now reasonable doubt whether the man was really guilty but at the same time the President will want to have a control, if possible, of the Supreme Court. That’s the dream of all presidents. So, I think we have to choose somebody non-controversial but has a record of expertise,” she explained.