Aguinaldo vs Aquino III

G.R. No. 224302

Sec. 9, Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution. The Members of the Supreme Court and judges of lower
courts shall be appointed by the President from a list of at least three nominees prepared by the
Judicial and Bar Council for every vacancy. Such appointments need no confirmation.
It is also the position of the OSG that the President has the absolute discretion to determine who is best
suited for appointment among all the qualified nominees.
Facts:
President Marcos issued PD 1486 (creating Sandiganbayan), then PD 1606 (elevated members of
Sandigan from Judges to Justices, then RA 7975 (increasing the members from nine to fifteen
Justices), RA 10660 (creating two more divisions of Sandigan with 3 Justices each, thereby resulting
6 vacant positions)
After screening and selection of applicants, the JBC submitted to former President Aquino six
shortlists contained in six separate letters including petitioners and respondents.
The President subsequently issued appointment papers for the six new Sandiganbayan Associate
Justices.
Petitioner IBP contends that as the association of all lawyers in the country, with the fundamental
purpose of safeguarding the administration of justice, it has a direct interest in the validity of the
appointments of the members of the Judiciary.
Petitioners insist that President Aquino could only choose one nominee from each of the six
separate shortlists submitted by the JBC for each specific vacancy, and no other; and any
appointment made in deviation of this procedure is a violation of the Constitution
ISSUE:
Whether President Aquino, under the circumstances, was limited to appoint only from the
nominees in the shortlist submitted by the JBC for each specific vacancy. (NO)
RULING:
President Aquino did not violate the Constitution or commit grave abuse of discretion in
disregarding the clustering of nominees into six separate shortlists for the six vacancies for
Sandiganbayan Associate Justice.
Nomination by the JBC shall be a qualification for appointment to the Judiciary, but this only means
that the President cannot appoint an individual who is not nominated by the JBC.
It should be stressed that the power to recommend of the JBC cannot be used to restrict or limit the
President's power to appoint as the latter's prerogative to choose someone whom he/she considers
worth appointing to the vacancy in the Judiciary is still paramount. As long as in the end, the
President appoints someone nominated by the JBC, the appointment is valid.