angelic moo

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez may have inadvertently revealed some secrets of th e Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the constitutionally created body that short lists nominees for appointment to the judiciary. The Secretary of Justice sits as an Ex Officio Member of the JBC. In a special issue of Newsbreak (Marites Dañguilan Vitug, Stacking the Court), Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez explained his vote on filling a vacancy in the Supreme Court. He said: “I voted for Reyes because he is senior and has the shortest time left in the judiciary,” Gonzalez said in a telephone interview in August. “I prefer short-term appointments. I don’t like people who plead for their appointment but when they get appointed, they turn against you. You never know what positions they take after they are appointed…. I’ve felt bitter about Supreme Court decisions lately.” This brief quote provides a revealing look into the manner in which the JBC has been operating—at least from the Secretary's point of v...

The Bush Administration has acted ignobly towards the prisoners of the war on terror; it created a regime where suspected terrorists are detained without any expectation of a fair trial. They are geographically separated from the US to prevent them from invoking constitutional protections of due process. They are called “enemy combatants” to prevent them from invoking the Geneva conventions for any form of protection. The Bush Administration has created a world where the prisoners are prevented from any law in protesting their innocence. It will prosecute and judge the detainees before military commissions without the participation of regular courts. This policy set off severe criticisms from every corner of the world which the United States has smugly ignored. More appalling was Congress’ willingness to abet the acts of the White House. When the Supreme Court ruled that US courts had jurisdiction to decide whether detainees were legally detained in Guantanamo, Congress passed the Deta...