Lawyers in the know say that Corona wields substantial influence on the IBP, not only because of this institutional arrangement, but because Libarios was virtually installed by Corona to become IBP President. Corona rendered a controversial decision shortly after he was installed as the midnight chief justice that paved the way for Libarios to become IBP President. If what they say is true, Corona deserves a PhD summa cum laude for excellent foresight. Libarios, on the other hand, deserves a pat on the head for his gratitude as a dependable acolyte.
The story behind this seemingly symbiotic relationship between the Corona and Libarios is laid out in Corona’s decision and in the dissent of Justice Presbitero Velasco.
The case stems from a dispute on the interpretation of the rules in the election of the IBP officers. Under the mandatory "rotation rule," the IBP presidency is rotated among the nine Regional Governors, who are in turn elected by delegates from various chapters throughout the country following a similar rotation scheme.
The story begins with the hotly contested elections for the IBP Governor for Greater Manila Region. Elpidio Soriano was elected to the position but only after a heated dispute on the interpretation of the IBP By-Laws.
The clash of interpretations pitted then IBP President Feliciano Bautista, a former mayor in Pangasinan (a fraternity brod of Libarios) and the IBP Board of Governors led by then IBP Executive Vice President Rogelio Vinluan, ACCRA hotshot litigator, UP Law valedictorian, Yale graduate and professor of evidence in both the UP Law and Ateneo Law. Vinluan happened to be a brod of Soriano in UP Law.
The Board of Governors led by Vinluan, following the provisions of the IBP By-Laws, adopted a resolution declaring Soriano (a past president of the IBP Quezon City Chapter), as the duly elected IBP Governor of Greater Manila Region for the term 2009 to 2011. Soriano was later unanimously elected by the IBP Board of Governors as the IBP Executive Vice-President, to replace Vinluan, who was to assume as IBP President for the term 2009 to 2011 following the mandatory "rotation rule."
Bautista and his allies naturally challenged these elections before the Supreme Court.
In the meantime, the issue of the midnight appointment of the next Chief Justice to succeed retiring Chief Justice Reynato Puno came to fore. Puno also happens to be the fraternity brod of Libarios.
Vinluan and Soriano opposed any midnight appointment to be issued by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, insisting that the constitution prohibits such an appointment.
By then, the battle lines were clearly drawn between the warring factions. It was ripe for the Supreme Court, now under Corona, to intervene. It was time to show everyone who is king.
In a controversial decision Corona handed down in December 2010, just a few months after his midnight appointment, the election of Soriano was unceremoniously nullified.
Soriano was declared ineligible to run for the position. In the same decision, Governors allied with Libarios were proclaimed winners. Worse, the revered law professor Vinluan was stripped of his position and barred from assuming the presidency simply for abiding by the interpretation of the IBP By-Laws adopted by the IBP Board of Governors on the argument that he did so with a "heavy hand".
With Vinluan out, the IBP was placed under the care of a retired Justice of the Supreme Court. Libarios was later designated Executive Vice President replacing Vinluan.
Libarios was later on elected President despite being disqualified under Corona’s own interpretation of the "rotation rule" in the decision he wrote.
Today, it seems that Libarios and his allies are bent on maintaining their grip over the IBP - of course with Corona’s help. Under Corona’s interpretation of the "rotation rule", the next Governor for Western Visayas should come from the IBP Capiz Chapter.
In turn, the Governor of Western Visayas shall be elected Executive Vice President and succeed Libarios in 2013.
Marlou Ubano, IBP Capiz Chapter President, who is not allied with Libarios, is eyeing the post of Governor of Western Visayas. Following Corona’s own interpretation of the "rotation rule," Ubano, if elected Governor of Western Visayas will end up serving as the Executive Vice President under Libarios, posing a challenge to his leadership .
Realizing that he may have been caught in a trap he has laid, Corona decided that he will have none of this. Upon instigation of an ally of Libarios, Corona by himself issued a IRa while the Supreme Court was in recess to stop the elections for Governor for Western Visayas.
Like in Arroyo’s IRa that triggered his impeachment, Corona acted swiftly and refused to hear any of the arguments of those who wanted the elections to proceed. No matter if it results in a disintegrated bar.
Eight months since Corona issued the controversial IRa, there is still no sign of elections being held in Western Visayas.
Sitting justices like Corona continue hold hostage each lawyer’s livelihood because of a martial law legacy. Corona has shown he knows how to use this vestige of the late dictator to full advantage. Yet Corona accuses someone else of having a tyrannical disposition.
No wonder Libarios is a willing apologist for Corona even to the consternation of members of the IBP and others who have held the IBP Presidency before him. There lies the rift.
It is high time that lawyers declare their independence from Corona and the Supreme Court.
Maybe then, we can see more independent thinking lawyers and a more accountable judiciary."
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