Duterte: I thought Carpio was not interested in CJ Post

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte defended Wednesday the appointment of Lucas Bersamin as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a decision that broke his previous promise to comply with the age-old rule of the judiciary.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Panguil Bay Bridge in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Duterte said that he thought that Antonio Carpio, senior SC magistrate, did not did not want the job. That's why he chose Bersamin.

"Carpio, did not he say he would not accept it?" Duterte said to Bisaya.

"Carpio [Diosdado] Peralta, Bersamin. Five names have been given. So I chose Bersamin. "

Carpio, who will retire next October, said he would refuse any appointment to the bench. He turned a blind eye to the president regarding the latter's policy in China.

However, Carpio subsequently changed his mind and accepted his automatic application for the post of Chief Justice, stating that there was no more question of "délicadeza" because he would no longer benefit from the ousting of the former Chief Justice, Maria Lourdes Sereno.

By appointing Teresita Leonardo-De Castro to Sereno's place, Duterte invoked the seniority rule and denied that it was a reward for De Castro's annoyance of the deposed Chief Justice.

When De Castro retired in October of this year, Carpio became the oldest candidate for the position of Chief Justice and should have been chosen by Duterte if the seniority rule was to be followed.

But Duterte named Bersamin, the third highest ranking of the high court.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo, however, said Bersamin "is currently the highest judge of the Supreme Court regarding services rendered under the judiciary in various capacities".

"He practiced nearly 17 years as president of the Quezon City Regional Court of First Instance, for 6 years as Associate Judge at the Court of Appeal and nearly 10 years as the 163rd magistrate of the Supreme Court, "said Panelo.

In addition to Carpio and Bersamin, three other judges from the SC, namely Peralta, Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Andres Reyes Jr. were also appointed.

Carpio strongly criticized Duterte's proximity to China, to the detriment of the Philippines' interests in the South China Sea.

In his speech, Duterte again criticized Carpio for urging him to defend the maritime interests of the Philippines.

"What do you want me to do, arbitration, so I'm going to order my military and the police to go to Palawan and shoot him, it will be a massacre," he said. he declared in English and Filipino.

Carpio was part of the Philippine team of jurists who won the Manila v. China case before a UN-backed arbitration tribunal involving the dispute over the South China Sea. In 2016, the court overturned Beijing's economic claim on the strategic shipping lane.

Duterte however chose to cancel the decision in exchange for better economic relations with the largest economy in Asia.