Duterte names CA’s Ricardo Rosario as SC associate justice

By Fernan Angeles

President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed one of the 13 applicants to become associate Justice for the Supreme Court. Named to replace retiring SC associate Justice Jose Reyes is Court of Appeals Justice Ricardo Rosario.

Born in October 1958, Rosario will be serving as associate justice until he reaches the compulsory retirement age for magistrates in 2028 still.

Rosario obtained his law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1983 and passed the Bar Exams in 1984. He worked as legal officer at the National Bureau of Investigation, senior corporate attorney at the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) before being appointed as senior assistant city prosecutor in Quezon City in 1994.

In 1997, he was appointed metropolitan trial court judge in Manila and later as regional trial court judge in Makati. He was appointed to the Court of Appeals in September 2005.

Rosario is noted for his answer during interview with the Judicial and Bar Council, where he was asked about his views on the drug war — specifically a Supreme Court ruling that acquitted a drug suspect for failure of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to conduct a physical inventory of the shabu in front of the accused and 3 independent representatives from the media, the justice department and an elected official, as required by law.

Rosario answered there was no need for the arresting officers to strictly comply with the physical inventory requirement for “as long as the integrity and the evidentiary value of the drugs taken” is preserved, applying the presumption of regularity in the performance of functions of law enforcement officers.

“It could undermine the campaign of the government to implement existing drug laws.”

The JBC interview took place a few months after the ouster of Maria Lourdes Sereno as chief justice.

Asked about the impact of the ouster on the courts, Rosario said there were fears the credibility of the SC would be eroded as a result of the decision but that perception appears to have died down.

“In my observation, most of the people think it was only an internal matter or administrative proceeding that pertained to nomination, selection and appointment of a justice in the Supreme Court,” he said.

“It did not actually affect the integrity of the Supreme Court. No reason to doubt judicial independence of members of high tribunal,” he added.

Rosario was also asked about his position on the visitorial powers of representatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, in reference to the shutdown of Boracay Island.

He said the right granted to DENR representatives to inspect premises of factories and investigate is constitutional, premised on the State’s police power which will prevail over the right to privacy.