By lawyering for rich, ex-justices arouse suspicion

In his Jan. 5 column, regular Inquirer columnist and former chief justice Artemio Panganiban informed us about retired members of the Supreme Court going back to private practice—some as consultants, others as counsels for mega business firms. Former Commission on Elections chair Christian Monsod observed that some of those justices might have been hired as counsels for persons or entities with cases in the Supreme Court  (“Former justices lawyering only for the rich,” Opinion, 1/11/14). That is very troubling.

Are not the enormous salaries and retirement benefits for Supreme Court justices intended precisely to take care of their old age so that they would not have to work again?  Is there no “conflict of interest” in the scenario painted by Monsod? Is it beyond the realm of possibility that they might have been playing favorites in their decision-making days in anticipation of future employment by the favored firms?  Where is “delicadeza” among the justices?

—GABRIELLE MICHELLE M. AGUILLERA,

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