Senators on Thursday welcomed the appointment of Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta but a group of left-leaning lawyers said the new leader of the Supreme Court must lead by insulating the judiciary from political influence and accommodation.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former police chief, cited Peralta’s judicial experience, integrity and competence.
“I have known him all the way back when he was QC RTC (Quezon City regional trial court) judge who convicted almost all if not all the kidnap-for-ransom suspects that I apprehended when I was still in the law enforcement service,” Lacson said.
He said many of the legal opinions he cited during committee hearings and plenary debates were done in consultation with Peralta.
“That is why I feel extremely confident when I manifest such opinions,” Lacson said.
Senator Richard Gordon said as the most senior justice to occupy the post of Chief Justice, Peralta can continue to stabilize and provide harmony to the Court, which has been rocked in recent years by two controversial leadership changes.
“He can and must provide independent judgment by the Supreme Court on all issues of the day. He has been visiting all courts throughout the archipelago observing, listening and guiding judges. He will not have a short term as he will have three more years before retirement,” Gordon said.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Thursday said seniority played a role in the choice of Peralta.
“All things being more or less equal, seniority will come into play, as I think it did in favor of Chief Justice Peralta,” Guevarra said in a text message to reporters.
Guevarra expressed hope that with Peralta at the helm of the judiciary, the new chief justice will focus on the fast resolution of cases.
“Knowing CJ Peralta’s background, I think he will continue to focus on speedy trials,” Guevarra said.
Peralta is the most senior in terms of the number of years of service in the judiciary, with two and a half decades of public service,
Peralta is also the most senior among the associate justices who applied for the top post in terms of tenure in the 15-member bench.
He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009.
Integrated Bar of the Philippines national president Domingo Egon Cayosa agreed with Guevarra that seniority played a big part in President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to appoint Peralta as successor of Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin, who retired on Oct. 18.
“The seniority tradition was maintained in the appointment of Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta who has served the longest as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court among the three aspirants nominated by the Judicial and Bar Council,” Cayosa said.
Meanwhile, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines said it would work with Peralta to achieve his advocacy of speedy trials.
Edre Olalia of the National Union of People’s Lawyers expressed hope that Peralta would “uphold judicial independence, preserve the separation of powers, and guarantee checks and balances.”
The NUPL urged the new chief justice to strengthen public confidence in the judicial system by instituting procedural reforms and insulating it from political influence, behest and accommodation.
“Finally, we call on him to tilt the balance between the powerful and influential and the poor and the oppressed and prove that the Court is the last bastion of democracy. Otherwise, the system will be perceived by the public as just another political institution garbed in legal niceties and majesty but essentially beholden to the political and economic powers that be,” he said.
