A “dissatisfied” President Aquino apparently wants those who made it to the final Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) list of nominees for the vacant chief justice position, to undergo another interview with him.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda yesterday described the President’s preference to meet and hear nominees vying for the top post in the judiciary as a “standard procedure.” “As a standard procedure, he takes the opportunity to meet with the applicants. But we don’t know yet, because of the situation right now, whether those interviews will take place. So we’ll let you know,” he told reporters in an interview.
He also implied that Aquino has been trying to hear even in the past from all nominees to the judiciary.
“Normally, the President would give them the chance to expound on their views. So we will ask the President if he would still push through or when he intends to do that, if ever he plans to have one. But let me say that anything said or heard during the exchanges would be confidential,” he added.
The Palace official also stressed the President will announce his choice for the next chief justice on time.
“He will make a decision on the 27th of August.”
Lacierda also reiterated that Aquino, despite expressing dissatisfaction over the way JBC dealt with the predicaments involving other nominees, would nonetheless be naming a new Chief Justice from the list that was submitted to him last week.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is believed to have been the President’s top choice for the position.
“The President has spoken. He said ‘I will make a selection based on the shortlist.’ So he has already said his personal piece over the shortlist, because he deems it unfair not to apply the rules to everyone and this is what he said already on the rules on disqualification — specifically on the disbarment or administrative case,” Lacierda noted.
Despite his statements, Lacierda would still not make any categorical confirmation of the President’s preference on the Justice chief. “I cannot say… I cannot speculate the President’s point on that.”
Meanwhile, asked to confirm whether the President indeed met with two of the eight JBC-recommended nominees — Supreme Court Justice Arturo Brion and former Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, Lacierda said he has no information about it.
Brion and Zamora were reportedly called to Malacañang last week, but a check on the President’s schedule does not say there was such an appointment of the President.
The visit took place before Aquino’s statement last Friday that he was not satisfied  with the JBC list since the rules were not applied equally to the nominees.