strict compliance, execution..

 It is a settled rule that a writ of execution should strictly conform to every essential particular of the promulgated judgment as indicated in the dispositive portion (fallo) thereof since it is that portion of the decision that actually constitutes the resolution of the court.  If there is a conflict between the dispositive portion and the opinion of the court contained in the body of the decision, it would be the dispositive portion that would be controlling.  This principle is based on the theory that the dispositive portion is the final order of the court while the opinion is merely a statement ordering nothing.  A writ of execution would be rendered void if it is in excess of and beyond the original judgment or award spelled out in the dispositive portion of the decision.

            Respondent clerk of court cannot be faulted for issuing a writ of execution in accordance with the literal text of the dispositive portion of the decision.  

ASEAN must have a unified stand..

"Last April, a government spokesman in Cambodia, current holder of the revolving chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said Phnom Penh wanted ASEAN to have “one voice, one destiny, one community.”

Last Friday, that one voice was nowhere to be heard at the conclusion of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in the Cambodian capital. Philippine officials noted that it was the first time in the grouping’s 45 years of existence that ASEAN failed to issue a joint communiqué at the end of its meeting.

Cambodia had been one of two reported holdouts in ASEAN efforts to issue a joint statement calling for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, with dispute settlement to be based on international agreements. China, which needed to come on board, made it clear it had no intention to do so. Beijing stood firm on its position of resolving territorial disputes in its surrounding waters bilaterally. Its ally Cambodia agreed, insisting that bilateral issues should not be included in an ASEAN communiqué. Not surprisingly, Beijing hailed the ASEAN meeting as “productive.”

Where the vision of “one voice, one destiny, one community” is now headed is uncertain. The dispute over the South China Sea, which the Chinese claim nearly in its entirety, involves six capitals including Manila. The sea encompasses busy shipping lanes where freedom of navigation should be unimpeded. That is not a bilateral issue but a multilateral one with international ramifications.

Yet ASEAN shied away from taking a common stand on the issue, with some news reports saying Beijing leaned heavily on Phnom Penh to block the joint communiqué. It may bode well for the two countries’ relations, but the impact on ASEAN unity and cooperation can only be negative. When a group whose members are smaller in size faces off with a giant, unity is the only hope for negotiating from a position of relative strength. There is a popular saying about what happens when a group becomes divided instead."

Right to information on matters of public concern vs Independence of the Judiciary.

It is the consensus of the Justices and the various judges associations that while the Constitution holds dear the right of the people to have access to matters of concern, the Constitution also holds sacred the independence of the Judiciary. The uniform position of the said Magistrates and various Judges' associations that disclosure of SALN of members of the Judiciary must be made in accord with the guidelines set by the Supreme Court and under such circumstances that would not undermine the independence of the Judiciary. Investigations conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman in a criminal case without prior referral of the criminal case to the Supreme Court is an encroachment of a constitutional duty that ran afoul to the doctrine of separation of powers. The Supreme Court is vested with exclusive administrative supervision over all courts and its personnel. Prescinding from this premise, the Ombudsman cannot determine for itself and by itself whether a criminal complaint against a judge or court employee, involves an administrative matter. The Ombudsman cannot dictate to, and bind the Court, to its findings that the case before it does or does not have administrative implications. To do so is to deprive the Court of the exercise of its administrative prerogatives and to arrogate unto itself a power not constitutionally sanctioned. This is a dangerous policy which impinges, as it does, on judicial independence.

Like all constitutional guarantees the right to information, with its companion right of access to official records, is not absolute. The constitution also provides that the people's right to know is limited to "matters of public concern" and is further subject to such limitations as may be provided by law. This could only mean that while no prohibition could stand against access to official records, such as SALN, the same is undoubtedly subject to regulation.

the exercise of discretion

grave abuse of discretion “implies such capricious and whimsical exercise of judgment as is equivalent to lack of jurisdiction, or, in other words, where the power is exercised in an arbitrary or despotic manner by reason of passion or personal hostility, and it must be so patent and gross as to amount to an evasion of positive duty or to a virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined or to act at all in contemplation of law.”

contenders for CJ post, per JBC list

SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE
Vice Hon.  RENATO C.  CORONA
(Application Period:  June 6- July 2,  20 12)
1.  ABAD,   ROBERTO A.
2.  BAUTISTA,  ANDRES B.
3.  BRION, ARTURO D.
4.  CAGAMPANG-DE CASTRO,  SOLEDAD M.
5.  CARPIO ANTONIO T.
6.  DE  LIMA,  LEILA M.
7.  DIOKNO,   JOSE MANUEL I.
8.  HERBOSA,  TERESITA J.
9.  JARDELEZA,   FRANCIS H.
10.  LEGARDA,  MARIA CAROLINA T.
11 .  LEONARDO-DE CASTRO,  TERESITA J.
12.  MORALES,  RAFAEL A.
13.  PANGALANGAN,   RAUL C.
14.  RODRIGUEZ,   RUFUS B.
15.  SARMIENTO,   RENE V.
16.  SERENO,  MARIA LOURDES A.
17.  SIAYNGCO,   MANUEL JR.  OJ.
18.  VALDEZ,  AMADO D.
19.  VELASCO,   PRESBITERO JR.  J.
20.  VELASQUEZ,  VICENTE R.
21.  VILLANUEVA,  CESAR L.
22.  ZAMORA,   RONALDO B.