“Disturbing" and “dangerous" — that’s how Malacañang on Thursday characterized the opposition put up by former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo to the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales as Ombudsman.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said while every citizen, including Arroyo, has the right to oppose proposed nominees being considered by the Judicial and Bar Council, Arroyo’s position is “part of a disturbing piece."
“Mrs. Arroyo takes a dangerous, verging on scurrilous, tack by imputing a lack of judicial integrity to Justice Morales on the basis of her voting record," Lacierda said.
He noted how the letter Arroyo submitted to the JBC on Wednesday opposing the nomination on Carpio-Morales, in fact, contrasts with her previous stand that Supreme Court justices are impartial.
“She says that the voting record of Justice Morales — dissenting in many cases where the majority had voted to uphold Mrs. Arroyo when she was President — is proof positive that as Ombudsman, Justice Morales would not give the Arroyos due process and a fair handling of cases," he said.
“As Claro M. Recto famously remarked, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. At the very least, the aggressive assertion of independence on the part of the high court’s majority Mrs. Arroyo insisted upon should be given Justice Morales. Otherwise it would serve to admit what Mrs. Arroyo had long denied: that the justices voted not on the basis of impartial law, but instead, with partisan considerations," he added.
“We cannot determine what would inspire Mrs. Arroyo to go off-message and even unleash that living monument to her maladministration of the justice system, former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, but it does seem she has some explaining to do to the Supreme Court and the Filipino people," he said.
Also on Thursday, Lacierda said that the Aquino administration was still gathering evidence of anomalies — allegedly committed by the past administration — in order to file the necessary charges when the Ombudsman is finally appointed. — MRT/VS
