Padilla, Binusisi ang Panukalang Amyenda sa Pagtatalaga ng mga Miyembro ng Hudikatura

Kailangan bang amyendahan ang Saligang Batas para mas maging epektibo ang pagtatalaga ng mga miyembro - at proseso - na may kinalaman ang Hudikatura?

Ito ang nilinaw ni Senator Robinhood Padilla, Tagapangulo ng Committee on Constitutional Reforms ng Senado, sa mga opisyal ng Hudikatura na dumalo sa Senado nitong Lunes para sa pagdinig ng Senate Committee on Finance sa budget nila para sa 2023.

Binigyang-diin ni Padilla na nabuksan ang usapin ng posibleng pag-amyenda ng proseso ng paghirang o appointment ng Punong Mahistrado, 14 na katuwang na mahistrado ng Korte Suprema, mga hukom at lahat na miyembro ng Hudikatura kasabay ng talakayan sa pag-amyenda ng Konstitusyon sa ilalim ng Committee on Constitutional Reforms.

"Gusto ko pong malaman kasi sa akin bumagsak yan. Ang sabi kasi, nagiging political. Totoo po ba yan?" tanong ni Padilla kay Court Administrator Raul Villanueva.

Tinukoy ni Padilla ang pahayag ng beteranong abogado at resource person na si Atty. Estelito Mendoza noong pagdinig ng Committee on Constitutional Reforms, na ang appointment ng mga miyembro ng mahistrado ay naging "concentrated" na sa Pangulo at walang partisipasyon ng mga miyembro ng Kongreso.

"The Judicial and Bar Council and this Judicial and Bar Council is supposed to 'depoliticalize' the process. But... what has happened is that the appointment of members of the judiciary has now been concentrated on the president without the voice or participation of the members of Congress," ani Mendoza.

Isa sa mga suhestiyon ni Atty. Mendoza ay ang pagbibigay ng boses sa mga miyembro ng Kongreso sa pamamagitan ng pagdaan ng mga itinalagang mahistrado ng hudikatura sa Commission on Appointments (CA).

"Sa inyong palagay kailangan bang amyendahan ang (Saligang) batas?," tanong ni Padilla.

Ayon kay Villanueva, ang nasabing suhestiyon ay nangangailangan ng rebisyon ng Saligang Batas, "That will require an amendment to the Constitution. If it will be amended, the judiciary interprets the law based on what is provided in the Constitution. Definitely, we will follow if that will be provided by law or the Constitution."

Dagdag ni Associate Justice Midas Marquez sa pagdinig nitong Lunes, ang proseso na dumadaan sa CA ang mga huwes at mahistrado ay proseso sa ilalim ng 1935 Constitution.

"Nung na-revise ang Konstitusyon during the 1986 Constitutional Commission, nakita po nila ang mga pros and cons ng pagdaan sa Commission of Appointments kaya minabuti nila noong panahong yan na magkaroon ng Judicial and Bar Council (JBC)," dagdag niya.

Bukas naman ang mga mahistrado sa posibilidad ng pagsilip sa rekomendasyon ng constitutional revision committee na itinatag ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, kasama ang pagdadagdag sa miyembro ng JBC.

"By all means -- basta makabuti sa ating bansa", ani Associate Justice Marquez nang tanungin ni Padilla kung papayag silang silipin ang mga rekomendasyong ito.

Padilla Digs Deeper into Proposed Charter Amendment on Appointment of Judiciary Officials

Will amending the Constitution be needed to improve the process of appointing members as well as other procedures of the Judiciary?

Sen. Robinhood "Robin" Padilla, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Reforms and Revision of Codes, raised this question Monday before members of the judiciary at the budget hearing for their 2023 proposed appropriations.

Padilla said the possibility of revisiting the process of appointing a Chief Justice, 14 Associate Justices of the Supreme Court and other members of the judiciary was touched upon during an earlier hearing of his committee.

"Gusto ko pong malaman kasi sa akin bumagsak yan. Ang sabi kasi, nagiging political. Totoo po ba yan (I want to know because the subject falls on my committee. The perception is that the process was prone to politics. Is it true)?" Padilla asked Court Administrator Raul Villanueva.

Padilla cited the pronouncements of veteran lawyer and resource person Atty. Estelito Mendoza during his committee's hearing that the appointment of magistrates became "concentrated" on the President - and lawmakers had virtually no more participation.

"The Judicial and Bar Council and this Judicial and Bar Council is supposed to 'depoliticalize' the process. But... what has happened is that the appointment of members of the judiciary has now been concentrated on the president without the voice or participation of the members of Congress," said Mendoza.

Mendoza suggested that members of Congress be given a voice by having the judiciary officials go through the Commission on Appointments (CA).

"Sa inyong palagay kailangan bang amyendahan ang Saligang batas (Do you think the Constitution needs to be amended)?" asked Padilla.

Villanueva replied the suggestion may need changing some provisions of the Constitution. "That will require an amendment to the Constitution. If it will be amended, the judiciary interprets the law based on what is provided in the Constitution. Definitely, we will follow if that will be provided by law or the Constitution."

Associate Justice Midas Marquez added the process of magistrates going through the CA was a process under the 1935 Constitution, but when the 1986 Constitutional Commission tackled revisions to the Charter, they saw the pros and cons of going through the CA so they deemed it better to have the Judicial and Bar Council ("nakita po nila ang mga pros and cons ng pagdaan sa Commission of Appointments kaya minabuti nila noong panahong yan na magkaroon ng Judicial and Bar Council").

The Judiciary officials indicated they are open to the recommendations by a constitutional revision committee formed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, including the strengthening of the JBC.

"By all means -- basta makabuti sa ating bansa (so long as it benefits the country)," said Marquez when asked by Padilla if they would agree to the committee's recommendations.