Corona accepts without conditions,
leaves it all to JBC
ASSOCIATE Justice Renato Corona yesterday accepted his nomination for the position of chief justice, a day before the Judicial and Bar Council deadline.
In a letter to the JBC, Corona said he is interested in being considered for nomination for the post to be vacated by Chief Justice Reynato Puno who retires on May 17.
"I humbly submit to the wisdom of the JBC in the exercise of its mandate under the Constitution," Corona said.
Two other contenders to the post -- Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, have told the JBC they were accepting on the condition their nomination would be submitted to the next president.
Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr. and Antonio Eduardo Nachura were also considered for the post, but they declined.
The only other contender left as of yesterday was Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio who is also of the stand that the JBC should submit its list of nominees to the next president.
Villa-Ignacio is in danger of losing his chance because of a reported pending estafa case filed in 2008 before the Ombudsman.
Villa-Ignacio, who prosecuted former President Joseph Estrada’s plunder cases, was nominated by former Ombudsman and Solicitor General Simeon Marcelo.
Corona was also nominated by retired judge Hector Corpus even though he was automatically considered by the JBC.
Corona worked as chief of staff and spokesman of then Vice President Arroyo, and continued on as presidential chief of staff when Arroyo assumed the presidency in 2001. He also served as the presidential legal counsel and as deputy Executive Secretary to former President Fidel Ramos.
The JBC has yet to decide on whether or not to submit its shortlist to President Arroyo, amid the constitutional ban on the incumbent making appointments two months before the election until the end of her term.
Court Administrator and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the JBC will meet on Monday to tackle the nomination of Villa-Ignacio, and differing opinions of stakeholders in the judiciary on the issue of whether Arroyo can appoint the next chief justice.
These include the opinions issued by former SC Associate Justices Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez and Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, who said Arroyo is barred under the Constitution to appoint the next chief justice.
The two retired lady magistrates on Tuesday also said the 90-day period to appoint a new chief justice will not lapse as the next president would still have 45 days to appoint the next Chief Justice.
Gutierrez and Austria-Martinez’ position contradicts that of their former colleagues, retired Justices Consuelo Ynares-Santiago and Josue Bellosillo, who said the constitutional ban on appointments does not cover the judiciary.
The JBC is also likely to look into Villa-Ignacio’s pending case.
Villa-Ignacio had been reprimanded by the Court for not acting on a motion for reconsideration filed by one of the parties in the case pending before his him when he was still a trial court judge in Makati City.
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