By Rey E. Requejo
Manila Standard Today
Manila Standard Today
The psychiatric examination of the aspirants for the Supreme Court and the Office of the Ombudsman will be retained, and the Judicial and Bar Council will merely “cleanse” the system, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Friday.
De Lima, the vice chairman of the council that vets the candidates to the high court and the Office of the Ombudsman, said the council’s eight members made that decision during their last meeting.
She confirmed the decision following a report.
that Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the council’s chairman, ordered the firing of the psychologists of the high court who gave her a nearly failing grade of 4 when she vied for the post of chief justice in July.
“We discussed the propriety and necessity of the psychiatric exams for applicants, and the majority agreed to keep it,” De Lima said.
“There were one or two members who wanted it scrapped, but the majority of us agreed to just cleanse the mode and the standard of people involved.”
De Lima said that while Sereno alone may decide on the fate of the psychologists, it would be better to consult the council first.
“We are a collegial body and the safest way is to get the council’s approval,” De Lima said.
Nonetheless, she said, the council discussed the possible replacement of the doctors being used by the group.
She said many council members were surprised by the results submitted by the psychologists who conducted the tests on the applicants for chief justice.
The results of Sereno’s psychological test reportedly showed that she “projects a happy mood but has depressive markers, too,” apart from her “strong tendency to make decisions based on [her] current mood, thus [the] outcome is highly subjective and self-righteous.”
Sereno was also “dramatic and emotional, she appears energetic and all smiles and agreeable, but with religious preoccupation in almost all significant aspects of her life.”
De Lima said that while the psychological fitness of the applicants should be determined, the test “merely serves as a guide and is not a fixed criterion.”
Under the council’s rules, a grade of 1 is considered excellent, a grade of 2 is very satisfactory, a grade of 3 is Satisfactory, a grade of 4 is not satisfactory, and a grade of 5 is very unsatisfactory.
The same rules say that a candidate obtaining a grade of 4 is automatically disqualified for the position.
President Benigno Aquino III knew about the low grade that Sereno obtained, but he still chose her to be his chief justice to replace impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona, bypassing many senior justices.
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