A rare peep inside the Supreme Court

Normally, Supreme Court justices are looked upon as a revered set of gruff, unsmiling, cold, and unreachable demigods loftily perched on Mount Olympus. The rare time they are seen in public is during oral arguments when they don their black robes, listen to, and interrogate even the most seasoned lawyers with piercing questions, subjecting them to bouts of perspiration, heart palpitation, and pure embarrassment for their inability to respond correctly and adequately.

RARE IS THE CHANCE FOR THEM TO SMILE, banter, and publicly exhibit their philosophical, sociological, pedagogical, religious, and “gossipy” inclinations (“marites” in street language), things that make them common folks.

One of these rare occasions was when they donned their maroon-lined, smart-looking robes to honor retiring colleagues like Justice Mario V. Lopez last week. The rare session began with the clerk of court (garbed in a black robe) announced, “Hear ye, hear ye, the honorable chief justice (CJ), the senior associate justice (SAJ), and the other justice of the highest court of the land” as the magistrates entered the courtroom in the single file. They took their assigned seats with the CJ seated at the center and the most junior at each end of the curved elevated rostrum.

THE PROGRAM BEGAN after the CJ banged his magisterial gavel. As the audience comforted themselves in the padded benches, SAJ Marvic MVF Leonen, the master of ceremonies, enumerated the souvenirs that were to be handed to the honoree by each of the remaining incumbents: Supreme Court flag, Philippine flag, lapel pin, watch, seal, photo album, books containing the retiree’s decisions, pen, brass shingle, judicial robe, gavel, plaque of recognition, and the huge “Chief Justice Abad Santos Award.”

The handing of these tokens signaled the playful bantering among the magistrates lightening the otherwise solemn proceedings. Examples of the verbal quips: (1) J Jhosep Y. Lopez: “Now, I would be the only Lopez left in the Court. I would no longer be mistaken as the ‘better Lopez.’” (2) J Ramon Paul L. Hernando, to the honoree: “In my heart and in our hearts, you shall stay in reclusion perpetua.” (3) SAJ Leonen: “Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan will now handover to our honoree, the Supreme Court seal with my continuing objection since Ten Commandments are inscribed therein.”

THE HONOREE’S QUIPS OPENED THE INSIDES OF THE COURT: (1) “In our deliberations every week, there are two agendas in the Divisions and one agenda in the Banc. If you are the justice in charge of a case, be … well-prepared because you will be grilled … by the other justices. This is especially true in the Banc when 14 justices would collectively take advantage of their superior strength to test the validity of your theories and arguments … The justices interpellated with no holds barred regardless of relevancy or materiality … On my part, when I am confronted by the justices’ whims and caprices in the quest for justice, I simply consoled myself with the mitigating circumstance of passion and obfuscation. For the times I could not withstand the stress, I would yield to their opinions and turn 360 degrees to adopt the majority view. But there were times I stood my ground even if I were the only dissenter—only one man standing.

(2) “[The] justices bring unique and special characters to the bench. Their perspectives, life experiences, and temperaments differ. We have a justice who is very diligent—too hardworking that sometimes his reflections are longer than the ponencias he was commenting on. Interestingly, another justice would cite cases, complete with their GR numbers, and dates of promulgation without looking at his notes. His words were so sophisticated that we had to consult Google to find their meanings. Others are quiet but sharp when they throw questions. But there is one justice who would intercede with anecdotes and jokes to lighten the mood … We would have a respite of good laughter thereafter.

(3) “When a certain justice says, ‘So must it be,’ beware. You either keep quiet or agree. Otherwise, if you disagree, prepare for … war. Nonetheless … we have an equalizer justice who ensures that we exercise our ‘meaningful freedoms.’ He always advocated liberty in our discussions…

(4) “When you look at the chief justice during deliberations, you would see a poker face so you could not decipher his thoughts. He voted last so you could only speculate if he was convinced or merely testing how prepared you were whenever he asked questions. In other words, his keen interest is double-bladed. He would always act as the referee to call a ceasefire. When tempers rise, he would arbitrate heated discussions [with] a compromise, to achieve [unanimity]—depicting a symbol of unity and cooperation in the Court.

(5) “I won’t say the names of the justices. But I mentioned their words and actions to show my colleagues that they made my journey difficult and miserable. Yet, I am thankful for those challenges because they pushed me to grow stronger, persevere, and stand firm … The sacrifice I endured was a small price to pay compared to the legacy they helped me build. Truly, my moments of pain are worth a lifetime of glory.”