Professional Documents
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* EN BANC.
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PARAS, J.:
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Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. once said: „They carry no banners, they
beat no drums; but where they are, men learn that bustle and bush
are not the equal of quiet genius and serene mastery.Ê (See Ricardo
J. Romulo, „The Role of Lawyers in Foreign Investments,‰
Integrated Bar of the Philippine Journal, Vol. 15, Nos. 3 and 4,
Third
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„We must interpret not by the letter that killeth, but by the spirit
that giveth life/'
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CONCURRENCE
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NERVASA, J.:
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DISSENTING OPINION
PADILLA, J.:
The records of this case will show that when the Court first
deliberated on the Petition at bar, I voted not only to
require the respondents to comment on the Petition, but I
was the sole vote for the issuance of a temporary
restraining order to enjoin respondent Monsod from
assuming the position of COMELEC Chairman, while the
Court deliberated on his constitutional qualification for the
office. My purpose in voting for a TRO was to prevent the
inconvenience and even embarrassment to all parties
concerned were the Court to finally decide for respondent
MonsodÊs disqualification. Moreover. a reading of the
Petition then in relation to established jurisprudence
already showed prima facie that respondent Monsod did
not possess the needed qualification, that is, he had not
engaged in the practice of law for at least ten (10) years
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„Essentially, the word private practice of law implies that one must
have presented himself to be in the active and continued practice of
the legal profession and that his professional services are available
to the public for a compensation, as a source of his livelihood or in
consideration of his said services.‰
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4 14 SCRA 109.
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DISSENTING OPINION
When this petition was filed, there was hope that engaging
in the practice of law as a qualification for public office
would be settled one way or another in fairly definitive
terms. Unfortunately, this was not the result.
Of the fourteen (14) member Court, 5 are of the view
that Mr. Christian Monsod engaged in the practice of law
(with one of these 5 leaving his vote behind while on official
leave but not expressing his clear stand on the matter); 4
categorically stating that he did not practice law; 2 voting
in the result because there was no error so gross as to
amount to grave abuse of discretion; one of official leave
with no instructions left behind on how he viewed the
issue; and 2 not taking part in the deliberations and the
decision.
There are two key factors that make our task difficult.
First is our reviewing the work of a constitutional
Commission on Appointments whose duty is precisely to
look into the qualifications of persons appointed to high
office. Even if the Commission errs, we have no power to
set aside error. We can look only into grave abuse of
discretion or whimsically and arbitrariness. Second is our
belief that Mr. Monsod possesses superior qualifications in
terms of executive ability, proficiency in manage-
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