No to another partisan magistrate

There are more valid reasons why Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez should not sit in the Supreme Court, aside from the grounds raised by Rizza Laurea in her bid to disqualify him as a nominee to that court (“Youth leader files graft complaint against SC administrator,” 7/3/18).

During the impeachment proceedings against the late chief justice Renato Corona, Marquez ignored all risk of being held in contempt by the Senate impeachment court then hearing the case against Corona by using the influence of his office as court administrator to rally all lower court justices, judges and their personnel in support of his beleaguered chief whom he practically worshipped.

During the impeachment proceedings against the former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, he had no problem using the influence of his office again to rally everyone under his supervision against Sereno, whose appointment as Corona’s replacement stuck in his craw.

That perception is not ours alone. Said the same report: “He (Marquez) is said to have been instrumental in the ouster of (Sereno) as his office has administrative supervision over all lower court judges and personnel.”

Quite obviously, the concept of neutrality seems alien to Marquez. He has been playing too much politics, a huge red flag against any member of the judiciary.

Can the present badly bruised justice system really afford another partisan magistrate in the Supreme Court?

MARIA MARGARITA AYTONA, [email protected]