JBC IS RIGHT: Postscript applauds the Judicial and Bar Council for refusing to succumb to the implied pressure of the Supreme Court to draw up a list of qualified replacements for Chief Justice Reynato Puno when he retires on May 17.

In a six-page comment sent to the High Court, the JBC said it was premature for the tribunal to have ruled last March 17 that President Arroyo may name Puno’s successor despite an appointments ban in Section 15, Article VII, of the Constitution.

That section says: “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.”

Intended or not, the SC ruling is a subtle pressure on the JBC to prepare the short list of nominees despite the absence of a vacancy. The Constitution, which created the JBC, has placed it under SC supervision and designated the Chief Justice as ex officio chairman.

* * *

PATENTLY PREMATURE: A majority of nine justices said that that ban found in Article VII (The Executive Department) applies only to “midnight” appointments in the Executive branch, and not to the Judiciary covered by Article VIII.

While we are inclined to agree that the ban in Article VII does not apply to the post of Chief Justice, we think that the Court’s ruling was premature because there was no cause of action. As the JBC said, there was no justiciable question before the Court.

This echoes the dissenting opinions of SC Justices Antonio Eduardo Nachura and Presbitero Velasco who said that all the petitions, pro and con, on the “midnight” appointment question before the Court were premature.

* * *

MIND-READERS: We noted in our Postscript last March 18 (titled “It’s not SC job to rule on hypothetical cases”) that President Arroyo was already being attacked for something she had not done or announced doing yet.

“President Arroyo had not acted or officially started the appointment process for the replacement of Chief Justice Puno when he retires on May 17.  There was nothing actionable to raise before the Supreme Court.

“The 15 wise men of the High Court are not a bunch of mind-readers who anticipate possible actions of politicians and jump into conclusions.

“Rendering advance legal opinions or weaving legal theories on hypothetical situations is not the job of the Supreme Court.

“That was the same reason (that there was no cause of action) why the Court had thrown out petitions to stop former President Erap Estrada from running for president even before he filed his certificate of candidacy.”

* * *

WHAT IF…?: That point about anticipating what the President, the appointing power, might do is pivotal.

All affected parties can bring action before the SC only if the President appoints, or attempts to, Puno’s successor.

Until last night, she has not moved in that direction. How can she, when there is no vacancy to fill? There is not even a hint of what the President might do or whom she favors.

What if on or after May 17, when the vacancy occurs, the President leaves the post open despite Section 9, Article VIII, giving her “the authority to appoint, within 90 days, any member of the Judiciary based on the list which will be submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council”?

* * *

MINDANAO’S FATE: Regarding our proposal to boycott party-list groups of dubious legitimacy or whose nominees are discredited politicians or scheming operators, we received a plea that Mindanao party-lists be given a fair chance.

The party-list group ABAMIN (Abante Mindanao) cited statistics showing that the island is “critically under-represented” compared to PL representations from Luzon. If pro-rata representation is a gauge, it said, “it seems we are not part of the Philippines.”

Abamin said: “In the May 10 elections, Luzon has 80 percent of the PL candidates, with only 10 percent from Mindanao. Of the 54 PL seats in the House of Representatives, only five are for Mindanao, or about 10 percent of the total. The rest are mostly from Luzon.”

“There are only two senators from Mindanao out of 24,” Abamin added. “In the Executive branch’s line agencies, there is only one department secretary from Mindanao (out of 24), resulting in comparative neglect of Mindanao-nons.”

* * *

MORE STATS: Seven out of the 10 poorest provinces are in Mindanao. Zamboanga del Nortebeing the poorest, where 64.6 percent of families are poor, has a per capita income of less than P12, 475 per year or P34 per day. Other poor provinces are Maguindanao (2^nd at 60.4 percent),Surigao del Norte (4^th, 54.5 percent), Agusan del Sur (5^th, 52.8 percent), Surigao del Sur (6^th, 48.6 percent), Misamis Occidental (5^th, 48.1 percent) and Lanao del Norte (19^th, 46.5 percent).

Abamin said: “Mindanao-nons must get their equitable share in the country’s wealth and revenue. The budget for Mindanao should be commensurate to the wealth it produces for the entire country and in accordance with its needs.”

“People from Luzon are the over-represented sector to the detriment of the people from the Visayas and, most particularly, the 23 million Mindanao-nons,” it said.

* * *

REMINDER: Check TODAY your polling precincts for the May 10 elections so as to have ample time to solve any problem that may exist. Log on to www.comelec.gov.ph/precinctfinder/precinctfinder.aspx. You can also go first to the Comelec website (www.comelec.gov.ph) and proceed to the precinct-finder link from there.