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MANILA. Malacañang
will soon appoint a relatively unknown and soon-to-retire Malabon regional trial
court Judge Leonardo Leonida, 59, as elections commissioner, four sources with
links in Malacañang and the judge's legal circle confirmed with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak.
President
Arroyo is expected to issue an ad interim appointment for Leonida this week or
next. She is also expected to reappoint Commisioner Moslemen Macarambon, who was
twice bypassed by the Commission on Appointments, the sources said.
Leonida's
appointment is expected to raise questions on the selection process in Malacañang.
We found out that Leonida is facing an administrative charge before the Supreme
Court for unethical conduct. This draws parallelism to the controversial appointment
of Macarambon, whose reputation in the judiciary is under question. (Read: SC
ruled twice against new Comelec Exec)
Leonida
was not in the shortlist submitted to Malacañang early this year. (Read:
Panel Submits Comelec Shortlist to Palace) Apparently, he is a new addition to
the shortlist submitted to Malacañang last month. According to a source
privy to the search process, the first shortlist was expanded from 10 to about
20 because of politics in the Palace. Leonida is one of 10 regional trial court
judges that made it to the list. (There are three vacant positions.)
His
inclusion in the Malacañang shortlist was a surprise for many as Leonida
is practically unknown to Comelec and the legal circles in Metro Manila. Reports
on Sunday revealed that the shortlist was trimmed to three names-Leonida, lawyer
Howard Calleja, and chief state prosecutor Jovencito Zuño. Two independent
sources said a bishop close to President Arroyo recommended Leonida to the Comelec
post.
We
checked with Comelec chief and former Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo, Commissioner
Rene Sarmiento, Calleja of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting
(PPCRV), and Vincent Lazatin of the Transparency International Network and they
don't know Leonida.
"I
have not met him. I'm in the black," Melo said when asked if he knows the
background of Leonida.
Among
lawyers in Metro Manila, Leonida's name does not strike recall. "At least
with Metro Manila practitioners, [he is] absolutely unknown," said another
lawyer who has connections in government.
We
could not reach Leonida for this article. According to a Malabon RTC clerk of
court, Leonida is on terminal leave. He is the acting judge of the court's branch
74.
SAN
BEDA STUDENT
But
there is one person we found to have personally known him. It is elections lawyer
Sixto Brillantes, although he last got in touch with Leonida in the 1970s. He
was then Brillantes's student in the San Beda College of Law. Leonida finished
his law degree in 1973. As a student, Brillantes said, "He's okay. He is
good and efficient."
But
that was in the past. Two other sources familiar with Leonida's judicial career
said that Leonida has a "bad reputation."
To
those in the legal community who are familiar with Leonida and his certain appointment
to the Comelec, "the reaction was very negative. He does not enjoy a good
reputation in legal circles," said one.
"With
the choice, it is obvious that there is no determination or sincerity [on the
part of the administration] in instituting reforms at Comelec," he added. SCANDAL
IN LAGUNA
Based
on an interview, we found out that Leonida was transferred from Laguna to Malabon
for an alleged indiscretion.
It
was verified with the Supreme Court (SC). An insider confirmed there's a pending
administrative case against Leonida on the alleged affair. We also gathered that
it was his wife who asked for Leonida's transfer. The complaint is now pending
before the 2nd Division of the SC.
We
failed to obtain copies of the administrative case from the SC's Office of the
Court Administrator as such cases are confidential in nature.
LONG
GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Leonida
passed the bar in 1974, with a grade of 79.75 percent. In 1983, he started his
career in government service as secretary to one of several committees of the
Batasang Pambansa. After Martial Law, he served again as a committee secretary
in the 1986 Constitutional Commission.
In
1987, he was appointed as the 3rd assistant provincial prosecutor of Rizal. He
was a fiscal in various courts for ten years until he was he was appointed in
1997 by President Fidel Ramos as presiding judge of Branch 27 regional trial court
in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.
He
is a native of Marinduque, where he finished his grade school and high school.
He finished Bachelor of Arts in Manuel L. Quezon University in 1969, BS Law in
1973, and BS Business Administration in 1983. He now lives in Paranaque. | 
