Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio is the “most logical choice” as successor to retired Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, a colleague in the Supreme Court said.
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Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said Carpio, who was twice bypassed for the top judicial post in 2010 and 2012, is highly qualified to become the next top magistrate.
“He is an old hand. He has a lot of gravitas. He is respected in terms of intellectual capability and he has experienced a lot in terms of the Court and in terms of politics… He would be the most logical choice,” Leonen said in a recent interview.
Leonen, who is now the sixth most senior member of the SC, also cited Carpio’s performance as acting chief justice in several instances, after the ouster by an impeachment of the late chief justice Renato Corona in 2012, ouster by quo warranto of chief justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno earlier this year and the retirement of Chief Justice De Castro last Oct. 10.
“At times he acted as chief justice, decisions were efficient, decisions of other justices are respected and there’s good facilitation of discussion in the [collegial session]… There’s a lot of confidence in how the Court is managed even though he is acting chief justice,” the magistrate said.
He also pointed out that seniority should be an important consideration in selecting the next SC chief.
“Seniority, to me, is a marker of experience and a marker of a period under which you have gained the respect of your colleagues. You have to have experience as chair of the committee. Seniority is important, only because it is a marker of experience and potentially leadership,” he said.
Because of this, he believed that the three other senior magistrates vying for the chief justice post – Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, and Estela Perlas-Bernabe—are also qualified.
He said Peralta is “very passionate about processes of the court” and has “worked on continuous trial and speedy trial” while Bersamin is “very diligent and conscientious in terms of his decisions.”
Leonen said Bernabe, on the other hand, is “very collegial in terms of her work” and “most of her decisions are unanimous simply because she is able to accommodate a lot of points of view which is a mark of a good leader.”
Of the five senior justices who were automatically nominated for chief justice, only Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo declined the nomination. Leonen said he was disheartened by this decision because he said Del Castillo “is the most compassionate and kindest among all of us.”
As for the fifth nominee, Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr., Leonen said he would rather have a senior magistrate named chief justice so “we should not repeat what has happened in the past.”
Leonen was apparently alluding to the controversial appointment of Sereno as chief justice in 2012 where she bypassed all five senior magistrates in SC.
The Judicial and Bar Council closed the nominations for the chief justice post last Friday and has decided not to hold public interviews of the SC justices aspiring for the top judicial post anymore.
The Constitution requires the chief justice, just like the associate justices, to be a natural-born citizen, at least 40 years old, with experience as judge or in private law practice for at least 15 years and a person with proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence.
Duterte is expected to appoint over 12 members of the Supreme Court during his six-year term. He already appointed six justices so far—now Ombudsman Samuel Martires, Noel Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr., Alexander Gesmundo, Jose Reyes Jr. and Ramon Paul Hernando.