Noynoy formally asks Morales to administer oath

By Benjamin B. Pulta and Aytch S. de la Cruz

06/18/2010

President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is bent on not taking his oath before Chief Justice Renato Corona who had been appointed by outgoing President Gloria Arroyo.

A formal request has been sent by the Aquino camp to the office of Senior Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales for the latter to administer the oath of office to Aquino on his inauguration at the end of the month.

Umberto Morales, chief-of-staff and son of the justice, told reporters that their office received the letter of request from Aquino’s camp through a courier before noon on Wednesday.

He said her mother has yet to decide on the matter.

Carpio-Morales has not been available for interview when visited by reporters in her office in the past four days. Her office also declined to provide reporters a copy of Aquino’s letter and said the justice would probably issue a statement in the following days.

Breaking tradition, Aquino has earlier reported to have chosen Morales, the lone magistrate who opposed the appointment of new chief justice by Arroyo, to administer his oath instead of Corona, whose appointment he had earlier vocally opposed.

Morales had cast the lone dissenting vote against the nine justices who agreed that Arroyo is allowed by law to name the successor of Chief Justice Reynato Puno, who retired on May 17.

In her dissenting opinion, Morales said she believes Arroyo cannot appoint the next chief justice because she is prohibited by the ban on “midnight appointments” under Section 15, Article 7 of the Constitution. This provision in the Charter states that: “Two months immediately before the next presidential elections and up to the end of his term, a President or Acting President shall not make appointments, except temporary appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein will prejudice public service or endanger public safety.”

The magistrate contested the majority argument that the intent of the framers of the Constitution to exempt the chief justice post from the appointment ban during election is obvious.

“That the power of judicial appointment was lodged in the President is a recognized measure of limitation on the power of the judiciary, which measure, however, is counterbalanced by the election ban due to the need to insulate the judiciary from the political climate of presidential elections. To abandon this interplay of checks and balances on the mere inference that the establishment of the JBC (Judicial Bar and Council) could de-politicize the process of judicial appointments lacks constitutional mooring,” she stressed.

Contrary to the opinion of her colleagues, Morales believes the establishment of the JBC is not sufficient to curtail the evils of midnight appointments in the judiciary and that the 90-day period to fill a vacancy in the Supreme Court (SC) is suspended during the ban on midnight appointments.

She emphasized that the high court can function effectively during the midnight appointments ban even without an appointed chief justice.

Morales was one of the six contenders for the chief justice post, but later on declined her nomination following a ruling issued by the SC allowing Arroyo to appoint a new chief justice.

Relatedly, Malacañang yesterday declared June 30, the day Aquino formally assumes office as the country’s 15th President, a special non-working holiday nationwide so that Filipinos would be able to hear what he has to say in his inaugural speech.

The declaration was made following a proposal presented to Arroyo Wednesday by Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza, who heads the Presidential Transition and Cooperation Team (PTCT).

Presidential Management Staff chief Maria Elena Bautista-Horn, who speaks on behalf of the PTCT, told reporters through a text message yesterday afternoon that the Palace, through the issuance of Proclamation 2085, declares June 30 a special non-working holiday.

Presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo confirmed this during a Palace press conference, adding that government employees will have a choice either to witness the inaugural rites live at the Quirino Grandstand or just stay at home and watch the event on television.

Saludo noted that the declaration of a special non-working holiday on Aquino’s inauguration day is part of the PTCT’s moves intended for a smooth transfer of government.

He also said it does not matter to Malacañang what Aquino would say in his inaugural speech, even if he assails the outgoing administration on some critical issues.

“This is a free country, people will say what they want to say and certainly, if you’re the President, nobody’s gonna tell you what to say and what not to say. So let us just let him speak, the President (Arroyo) also speaks when she wants to speak and that is just part of our political and democratic culture and I don’t think we would care to comment on what he will say,” Saludo said.

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