AREN'T WE DEMEANING THE CHOICE OF THE NEXT CJ?

I do not know if others have noticed it the way I do, but it seems to me the search for a new Chief Justice has become a highly cheapened exercise now than what it used to be before.  I cannot imagine that some candidates are either advertising themselves or are being advertised by their respective proponents in the media.

Kim Henares is one example; she says she has a better edge than other candidates, even as she keeps saying she has not decided whether to accept the nomination or not.  Same with DOJ Leila de Lima.  Aba eh sa tingin ko'y nagpapataasan sila ng ihi before the eyes of Pinoy.  Noong araw, tahimik lang ang JBC in selecting nominees, at least three of  which will be in the list that the President will choose from.  Hindi masyadong nagkakaroon ng wide media coverage before the list is completed.  Malalaman na lang natin na a list has been made and sent to the President.  Now, I cannot help but think that whoever the President will tend to choose is already being made gradually known to the  JBC, so that the JBC will surely include him in the list of three to be sent to PNoy.  Noong araw, kung walang mapili agad ang Presidente sa original list, the JBC will make a new list, but never can the president suggest a name to be put in the list.  Ngayon, parang  sinasabi na agad ng Pangulo na Henares and de Lima should be in the list.  I hope I an not wrong in my impressions.

At any rate, if I were the President, I will choose somebody already in the Judiciary as the next Chief Justice, such as Carpio, who, anyway, the President is known to be leaning to from the very outset.  If Pnoy really wants to increase the number of Justices that he nominated -- there are three at the moment -- then I would choose one of the Justices.  With that, he would be creating an additional vacancy, another Justice, that he can appoint, in turn making five the eventual Aquino Justices in the high court.  If he appoints somebody from outside as CJ, like Henares or de Lima, then there will be only four eventual Justices in the high tribunal appointed by PNoy.      Hindi nga ba't Pnoy used to complain, then, that napakarami ng Arroyo Justices in the court.  This is now his chance to maximize his own-appointed Justices by getting the next CJ from inside, not outside. Make them five, not only four.

Having said the above, the final say is of course upon the President.  He should be the best to know what is the best for his administration.  Personally,  I only hope that at the end of the day, this country, this republic, could still maintain the necessary balance of power among the three branches of  the government -- indeed, a truly balanced one..