THE SUPREME Court (SC) has upheld an earlier decision limiting to one the number of representative from Congress that will sit in the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

The high court — voting 9-5 yesterday with Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno, who sits as the JBC Ex Officio Chairperson, not taking part — dismissed the petition of Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo V. Umali asking the high court to compel the JBC to reverse the SC decision on having just one, instead of two, lawmaker in the council.

Mr. Umali, a JBC ex officio member, assailed a 2012 SC decision that “limited the membership of the Congressional representative in the JBC to one, despite the existence of two separate houses of Congress.”

The JBC, created under the 1987 Constitution and is under SC supervision, is the body that screens aspirants to the judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Its members are: the chief justice as ex officio chairman, the Justice secretary, a representative of Congress, a representative of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, a professor of law, a retired SC member, and a representative of the private sector.

The SC ruled that Congress, both the House of Representatives and the Senate, should have only one representative in the JBC, as it rejected the argument that a single representation runs contrary to the “bicameral nature” of the two houses of the legislative department.

Mr. Umali, in his petition, argued: “A single representation not only violates the intent of the frames of the Constitution but defies reason and practicability in the process.”

Mr. Umali shares his vote in the JBC with Senator Richard J. Gordon, who represents the Senate committee on justice. Mr. Umali sits in the JBC from January to June, while Mr. Gordon in the second half of the year.

“As a result of the dismissal of the petition, the decision of the Court in Chavez vs JBC stands,” SC Spokesperson Theodore O. Te explained.

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr. Concurring are Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio, Associate Justices Diosdado P. Peralta, Lucas P. Bersamin, Jose C. Mendoza, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa and Noel G. Tijam.

Meanwhile, Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, Samuel Martires, and Bienvenido L. Reyes dissented. — Kristine Joy V. Patag

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