Senators joke Peralta is next

chief justice
Justice Diosdado Peralta, the most senior of the
applicants, represents the judiciary in budget
hearings of both chambers of Congress

Senators now call him the chief.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta,

a chief justice applicant, laughed off on Monday,
September 30, the teasing of senators who called
him the next chief justice. (READ: How they voted:
Meet the chief justice aspirants for 2019)

As he did at the House of Representatives, Peralta

represented the judiciary at the Senate to defend
its P38.71-billion budget for 2020.

Senator Franklin Drilon repeatedly called Peralta

chief.

"May I request for Court Administrator (Midas)

Marquez with the guidance of the chief, I mean
Justice Peralta, to come up with remedial
legislation," Drilon said as he and Senator Sonny
Angara discussed with the Justice, possible
adjustments in rules to avoid the recycling of seized
drugs.
Marquez joined in on the teasing, saying, "with the
guidance of the chief your honor," referring to
Peralta.

Peralta is the most senior of the 4 chief justice

applicants, who include Associate Justice Estela
Perlas-Bernabe, Andres Reyes Jr ,and Jose Reyes Jr.

This is the third time that Peralta is applying to be

chief justice. Peralta was bypassed for the post
when President Rodrigo Duterte picked retired chief
justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro, and then retiring
chief justice Lucas Bersamin. Peralta was more
senior than Bersamin.

"I dropped by to express my support to the Supreme

Court family, my Mandatory Continuing Legal
Education (MCLE) mentor, the next chief justice,"
said Senator Francis Tolentino who spoke in the
budget hearing, only to say he supports the SC.

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will hold its

public interviews of the chief justice applicants on
Wednesday, October 2.

After Maria Lourdes Sereno was ousted, Peralta was

reported to be a front-runner in the race for chief
justice, with his ace being no less than then-speaker
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a staunch ally of President
Rodrigo Duterte.
Arroyo appointed Peralta to the SC in 2009, the last
full year of her presidency. Their fathers were
friends; Peralta was even named after Arroyo’s
father, former president Diosdado Macapagal.

Decisions and votes

Peralta has been advocating for reforms in the

handling of drugs cases, being the ponente of People
vs Lim, where the High Court warned police and
prosecutors that a weak drug case would be thrown
out. It set a precedent for succeeding acquittals that
aimed to prevent planting of evidence by the cops.

People v Lim has since been a hot topic in the

judiciary, particularly how it affects the
government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

Peralta earlier said “we are failing in drugs cases”

due to the sheer volume of cases being
filed, overwhelming both prosecutors and courts.

Peralta penned the controversial ponencia that

allowed a hero’s burial for dictator Ferdinand Marcos,
triggering nationwide protests.

Peralta also wrote the ponencia that made the Good

Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law retroactive.

So far, Peralta has never voted against the President

in cases that directly impacted his administration –
like the martial law in Mindanao cases – and even
those that were of interest to him, like the quo
warranto ouster of Sereno.

Key SC decisions from 2006 indicate that Peralta, as

well as Andres Reyes Jr, lean towards the executive
or politicians. – Rappler.com

Read more stories on the Supreme Court:

 Who voted for Duterte in the Supreme Court?

 #CJSearch: How did aspirants vote on key
Supreme Court decisions?
 By 2022, Supreme Court filled with Duterte
appointees
 Duterte starts to pack Supreme Court with
young appointees
 First among equals: How influential is a chief
justice on the Court?
 How chief justice applicants voted on P7-B
Delfin Lee scam

Justice Peralta tears up: 'I

deserve to be chief justice'
'I’m not a topnotcher, I'm not an honor student, but I
think I was able to compensate with the work that I
had done,' Justice Diosdado Peralta tells the Judicial
and Bar Council

MANILA, Philippines – "I deserve to be chief justice."

A teary-eyed Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice

Diosdado Peralta made the declaration as the
Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) wrapped up his
interview for the chief justice position on
Wednesday, October 2.

"I'm not competing with the other applicants, they

may also be qualified.... It’s up to you to judge us but
what I can only say, sometimes sentimental ako
eh (I'm sentimental). If I remember what I have
experienced since I started working, mahirap eh (it's
hard), I think I deserve to be chief justice because I
worked very hard all these years," Peralta said in
tears. (READ: How they voted: Meet the chief justice
aspirants for 2019)

In an interview that lasted for an hour and a half,

JBC members mostly asked Peralta about his plans
to address problems of the judiciary such as clogged
dockets, and the killing of lawyers, prosecutors, and
judges.

Two JBC members – retired justice Noel Tijam and

retired judge Toribio Ilao – got a little bit personal
when they asked him if he was an "arrogant and
difficult" justice.
"You will be the first to tell everybody if I'm arrogant
or not. Probably they misinterpret arrogance for [my
being] passionate. I admit I'm passionate in all
deliberations.... It would be [like] lifting myself if I
say probably I'm the most approachable justice in
the Supreme Court. That's really what I am," Peralta
told Tijam.

Defending his ponencias

At one point, Peralta was grilled on his ponencias

related to drug cases.

For example, Peralta wrote the decision that allowed

plea bargaining in small time drug cases.

"There is a perception from some sectors that it sort

of put a damper on the campaign on drug cases
because it stymied the effectivity of the drug
operation," Tijam said of the ruling.

Peralta defended his decision by saying that most of

the nearly 100,000 drug cases a year involve small
amounts of illegal drugs.

Other Stories
Amid 'alarming' acquittals of drug suspects, Peralta
clarifies SC ruling
The chief justice applicant says judges should not acquit
suspects, but dismiss cases only without prejudice to
refiling

Bernabe: Chief justice should be loyal to

Constitution, people
'The chief justice is not a position of superiority but an
opportunity to lead the judiciary,' Supreme Court Associate
Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe tells the Judicial and Bar
Council during her interview for the top magistrate position

Senators joke Peralta is next chief justice

Justice Diosdado Peralta, the most senior of the applicants,
represents the judiciary in budget hearings of both
chambers of Congress

Retired justice Jose Mendoza, JBC executive

committee chairman, also asked Peralta to defend
his ponente in People vs Romy Lim, a decision that
set a precedent on dismissing weak drug cases.
The "weak" cases usually involve cops committing
lapses in handling seized drugs as evidence. The SC
decision has led to acquittals of drug suspects both
in the lower courts and in the High Court.

Peralta said some judges had misinterpreted his

ponencia. He said his decision should not be used to
blanketly acquit drug suspects but just to dismiss
cases without prejudice to a refiling where cops
would have the chance to justify their non-
compliance to the rules.

"Sometimes we have to develop the skills of judges

so that hindi namimisinterpret (we're not
misinterpreted)," Peralta said.

'I'm not a topnotcher'

Mendoza, the usual tough interviewer, said toward

the end of the interview that he would withhold
further questions and gave Peralta the chance to say
his last words to the JBC.

That's when the senior justice teared up.

"I’m not a topnotcher, I'm not an honor student,

because that's what they say – hindi naman daw ako
topnotcher, hindi naman ako honor...but I think I was
able to compensate with the work that I had done as
a public prosecutor, as a judge, as an associate
justice of the Sandiganbayan, as a presiding justice,
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, as a
lecturer, and the chairman of several committees
and member of several committees. I think they are
more than enough to compensate with what they say
that I do not deserve [to be chief justice]," said
Peralta.

"I hope you have to take those into consideration

that there is hope for an individual like me.
Sorry, medyo (a bit) emotional; that's me, Your
Honor, hindi ako (I'm not) arrogant. That's me," he
added.

This is the 3rd time that Peralta, who is set to retire

in March 2022, is applying to be chief justice.

He was bypassed for the chief justice positions

which were instead given to retired chief justice
Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and retiring chief justice
Lucas Bersamin, his close friend.

Peralta penned the controversial ponencia that

allowed the hero's burial for the late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos. Like the Marcoses, Peralta is from
Ilocos Norte.

Voting history

Peralta has never voted against President Rodrigo

Duterte in cases that directly impacted his
administration – like the martial law in Mindanao
cases – and even those that were of interest to him,
like the quo warranto ouster of Maria Lourdes
Sereno.

Key SC decisions from 2006 indicate that Peralta

leans towards the executive or politicians.

In cases involving powerful interests, Peralta

concurred in the flip-flopping decision of the Court to
favor Philippine Airlines (PAL) in a labor case filed by
retrenched employees.

In that decision, Peralta, along with Bersamin, also

flip-flopped in their individual votes to hand PAL a
win.

Peralta also concurred in denying the petitions that

sought to demand payment from the United States
for the damages inflicted by the USS Guardian on
Tubbataha Reef.

Peralta inhibited in the highly political cases of

Danding Cojuangco's shares from coco levy, and the
grant of bail to Globe Asiatique owner Delfin Lee.