MANILA, Aug. 20 (PNA) — Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima on Wednesday refused to confirm or deny the disloyalty issue being floated against Solicitor General Francis H. Jardeleza who was appointed by President Benigno S. Aquino III as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday.
De Lima is an ex-officio member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) which screens nominees for the position in the Judiciary.
Before Jardeleza was appointed to the SC, some reports surfaced that he was allegedly accused of “disloyalty to the Republic of the Philippines” when he deleted some parts of the memorandum submitted by the Philippines to the United Nations (UN) involving the “territorial dispute” in the West Philippine Sea.
The parts of the memorandum allegedly deleted by Jardeleza from the memorandum involved the “Itu Aba”, the biggest island in the Spratly Group of Islands, which is also being claimed by Taiwan.
However, De Lima refused to confirm whether this was indeed the “integrity issue” being hurled against Jardeleza which prompted the JBC not to include his name in the shortlist even if he garnered sufficient number of votes from the members of the council.
According to De Lima, the said issue is a sensitive matter because the arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China in connection with the West Philippine Sea is still ongoing.
De Lima also expressed the apprehension that the arbitration case filed by the Philippines may only be sabotaged.
Nevertheless, De Lima believes that Jardeleza is qualified as Associate Justice of the SC who is known as “a professional and a hardworker”. (Philippine News Agency)
