Vetting a Saint

Random Thoughts

by Polybius Gracchus

In the process of selecting an individual to be beatified, the Vatican appoints the so-called "Devil's Advocate" (Promoter of the Faith) to investigate, primarily, the dark secrets of a prospective saint to see to it that only the deserving passes the severest scrutiny of sainthood. In the matter of selecting the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, we have this mistaken, and, ridiculous idea that he or she must possess the attributes of a saint. We demand that the next CJ be beyond reproach, a man/woman of astringent morality, devoid of any glint of scandal or wrongdoing, a scholar of the highest order, to boot. A demigod, to be precise. Is it necessary? Is this the qualification that our Constitution requires?

Section 7 (1) and (3) of the 1987 Constitution provides that the members of the Supreme Court must be natural-born citizens of the Philippines, at least 40 years of age, must have been for 15 years or more as judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines, AND of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence. Former CJ Renato Corona breezed thru the proceedings of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) with a unanimous vote of its members, including Senators Drilon and Pangilinan who later voted for Corona's impeachment, questioning his very integrity and independence which they glossed over despite a formal complaint filed before them by Corona's in-laws. Surely, a decision based on the two senator's political connection with the Arroyo Administration.

Our 1987 Constitution, which is intimately patterned after that of the 1787 US Constitution, recognizes, nay, permits, partisan politics to be part of our political system. Thus, we need not seek a saintly man/woman to be Chief Justice of our Supreme Court. The system engrafted into our way of governance to function EVEN if we do not have virtuous men at the helm. This was the fruit of the genius of James Madison who insisted on the separation of powers principle. To the American Founding Fathers, a human being was an atom of self-interest. They did not place their trust in man; but in the power of a good political constitution to control him. They utilized the "baseness" of man to make the system work. They realized that the country may not always have virtuous men; thus, the system designed by them can be effective even in the absence of virtuous leaders.

We need not look for a saint to be Chief Justice; in fact, we doubt very much if one exists in our present society. Perhaps a less saintly man with a profuse dose of temperament, possessing the minimal requirements of our Constitution, would be adequate for our purpose. A completely principled, unbending man would actually break the delicate balance of the trinity of our political system.