De Lima has it?
Noynoy has made it clear, more or less, that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima would be his choice for the next chief justice as he was even reported to have talked to her to convince her to accept the nomination as candidate for the top post at the Supreme Court (SC).Much earlier of course, Noynoy and his rah-rah boys in Malacañang also made it clear that De Lima was well-qualified for the top judicial post.
All indications at this time, point to De Lima getting the anointing oil from Noynoy, who appeared inclined to get an SC outsider to replace ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona.
The yellow papers followed up the reported dialog between Noynoy and De Lima and her acceptance of the nomination to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) shortlist with a story that she had the most nominations among the record number of nominees to the shortlist. It makes a difference to have the most number of nominees now in a nominee’s chance of getting the top post? Any fool can nominate after all.
Those who had endorsed De Lima are from the same circle that sought Corona’s impeachment and are certainly part of the yellow mob of Noynoy.
Corona was removed through an impeachment process that Noynoy led which makes it imperative that Corona’s replacement is credible to be acceptable to the public and this could be the reason for the need to put up a show in allowing almost every Dick and Harry to be given a crack at the nomination process. In all, there were 63 nominees and applicants for the CJ post submitted to the JBC.
From the start, however, the expectation was that there is no other possibility but for Noynoy to put in a chief ally in his goal to “reclaim the Supreme Court,” obviously for himself.
It is not an irony that it was De Lima who had issued the warning against the high court justices that Noynoy will “reclaim the SC” supposedly for the people at the start of the Senate impeachment trial on Corona.
The reclaiming, however, appeared very urgent amid key cases being deliberated on at the high court involving the Aquino-Cojuangco family-owned Hacienda Luisita estate, primarily the compensation issue in which the relatives of Noynoy seek P10 billion from government as reparation.
De Lima, however, cannot be an impartial CJ with the many instances where she showed that political loyalty comes first to upholding the law.
She held off decisions of the SC willingly as Justice secretary to attain the gameplans of Noynoy. Prior to the filing of an election sabotage case against Gloria, the SC issued a decision lifting a hold departure order against the former President but which De Lima did not honor using the alibi that her office had yet to receive the order.
The decision was never complied with after it was taken over by events with the filing by the Commission on Elections of a rushed complaint against Gloria and her allies for manipulating the 2007 elections.
Also a disbarment case is pending against De Lima for uttering remarks on Corona when he was still Chief Justice that he was a lawless tyrant.
During the impeachment trial itself, De Lima tried to pin down Corona when she recounted supposed irregularities in the SC issuing a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the travel ban against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo and her husband former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. She was the House prosecution’s first witness in Article 7 of the impeachment complaint against Corona.
De Lima, however, in making her claim, only cited the dissenting opinion of Noynoy appointee Justice Lourdes Sereno on Dec. 2 in which she noted how the SC justices voted on the TRO, citing a supposed instruction of Corona, through Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., on how the voting should go.
The impeachment court, however, ordered the striking out of De Lima’s testimony as being hearsay.
Clearly when it comes to loyalty, De Lima’s record would be unassailable making her qualified to fulfill the task of reclaiming the high court for Noynoy.
With De Lima holding sway it would not be surprising that Noynoy and his landlord family are now waiting in anticipation for favorable decisions on the Hacienda Luisita dispute.
De Lima hands down would be perfect head for a Noynoy SC.
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