See - Jardeleza likens Sereno, Carpio to ‘sharks, bullies’ in speech before UP law grads | News | GMA News Online
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Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza took an apparent swipe against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Caprio during a recent speech, likening them to “sharks and bullies” for trying to prevent his appointment to the high court.
In a speech during the commencement exercises for UP law graduates, Jardeleza recounted a story about hitting a “major road block” that resulted in his supposed “near death experience” at the time he was trying to secure an SC post.
“The Chief Justice and the senior associate Justice of the Supreme Court objected to my nomination, on grounds that I lacked integrity in my handling of the West Philippine Sea arbitration,” Jardeleza said. “It came as a complete surprise; I didn’t know what hit me.”
Jardeleza ended up still challenging his oppositors and took up the case before the SC, which, through a vote of 7-4 in August 2014, ordered the Judicial and Bar Council to include him in the shortlist despite the objections of Sereno and Carpio.
Jardeleza eventually clinched the SC post later that month. Sereno and Carpio did not take part in the SC voting.
“What the case will not tell you, though, is how much pain the vicious untruths hurled my direction caused me and my family,” said Jardeleza. “I was so close to professional death, an inglorious end to a career I had worked so hard to nurture. It is an experience I would not wish on anybody.”
Saying “unkind persons roam this world,” Jardeleza advised the graduates to “face down the bullies” and never to “back down from the sharks.”
GMA News Online tried getting Sereno's side, but the chief justice declined to comment. SC Public Information Office chief and spokesman Thedoore Te said in a briefing that “as of 2:03 p.m., [there’s] no indication of any comment.”
Sereno and Carpio both opposed Jardeleza’s nomination to the SC for his alleged unfavorable position on the Philippine claim over the West Philippine Sea. Jardeleza was solicitor general at the time, representing the Philippines in its territorial claim over parts of the South Chiina Sea.
Sereno's objection concerned Jardeleza—as chief government lawyer—ordering the deletion of key parts of the Philippine memorandum or memorial that was to be submitted to a United Nations-backed arbitral tribunal in the Hague, particularly the portion on the Itu Aba.
Taiwan-controlled Itu Aba is the largest island in the contested Spratly Islands.
In his speech, Jardeleza said even if he wanted to, he could not defend himself over Sereno and Carpio’s accusations as he was bound by the lawyer-client secrecy, and could not discuss in public aspects of the territorial dispute case.
“Under our code of ethics, we carry the secrets of the client to the grave. These secrets include case litigation strategy and tactics. You do not telegraph these to the adversary. That would be treason,” he said.
Jardeleza accused Sereno and Carpio of violating “with impunity” laws and administrative orders prohibiting public officers charged with the custody of or confidential and secret documents containing state secrets from revealing their contents.
Jardeleza likened his journey to a basic NAVY seal training of swimming in shark-infested areas. He said when a shark circles your position, stand your ground and don’t swim away.
“If it moves in to attack, you must summon all your strength and courage and punch that shark in the snout,” he said.
“Sharks and bullies can be brutal. I cannot guarantee that you will triumph over the bullies and the sharks. In my case, I almost perished. I was bloodied. But I stood my ground. I pushed back. So that’s my advice to you: when faced with a bully, push back,” said Jardeleza.
While he respected those who measure success by their money in the bank, job titles, press coverage, or even Twitter followers, Jardeleza advised the graduates to live lives of integrity, principle, steadfastness, and ethical inspiration. —KBK, GMA News
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