Who are they to lecture us?

Senator Noynoy Aquino said that if he is elected he will not recognize an illegal appointment. We fully support his position. There is nothing presumptuous about this and he is certainly not ill-advised.

Senator Aquino believes that a President should never tolerate illegal or unconstitutional edicts. How we wish we could say the same for the present occupant in Malacañang.

All that Senator Aquino did was to say what a President ought to do should he be faced with an unconstitutional act. Obviously, Malacañang cannot understand this because for quite some time now it has miserably failed to perform its constitutional duty, which is to uphold and defend the Constitution and the rule of law.

* * *

Now, however, GMA's allies are criticizing Senator Aquino's statements on the Chief Justice appointment, and they themselves are citing respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. Look who's talking. With the NBN-ZTE scandal, payola, and fertilizer scams hounding Malacañang (among many others), who are they to lecture us about respect for our courts, our Constitution, and the rule of law?

JBC should refuse to be made a tool for the violation of the Constitution

In order to prevent Malacañang from making a midnight appointment for the post of Chief Justice to the Supreme Court, all the JBC has to do is refuse to submit a shortlist to Malacañang. By doing this, Malacañang will have no basis to issue an appointment, as a shortlist prepared by the JBC is a constitutional requirement for a valid appointment to the Judiciary.

The JBC should refuse to be made a tool for the violation of the constitutional ban on midnight appointments spelled out in Section 15 Article 7 of the Constitution. We urge the JBC to maintain its independence as a constitutional office. Let the next President make the appointment.