Outgoing Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said he is still open to a government post under the administration of incoming President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.
“If there are options for going back to government service then I would also consider that option. I think I still have the energy,” Guevarra said on Wednesday, June 15, during the online forum “Kapihan sa Manila Bay.”
Guevarra’s tenure as head of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is co-terminus with the term of President Duterte who will step down as Chief Executive at noon on June 30.
After June 30, Guevarra said he may go back to teaching and law practice or joining the private sector.
But once his successor, Cavite 7th District Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” C. Remulla, takes over, Guevarra said he will prioritize taking a short break.
“I’ve been continuously working non-stop. Physically meron din effect yun sa akin (It has an effect on me). So, the first thing that I am going to do after June 30 would be to have a little vacation with my family and loved ones,” he said.
When asked if he would consider a post in the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, Guevarra said he was very much interested in joining the SC like any other lawyer.
But he said: “Di na ako (I am no longer) qualified. I’m 68 already).”
Guevarra had been nominated twice by retired Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Raoul Victorino.
“As I explained to Justice Victorino, that yung nominations niya (his nominations) in my favor happened during a time when we were having a national emergency,” Guevarra said. He was referring to the Covic-19 pandemic which hit the country in March 2020.
He stressed he does not regret continuing being justice secretary which he considers as the “zenith” of his legal career. “It is the peak of what I could have done as a lawyer, being the secretary of the Department of Justice,” he added.
Then he aired an advise to incoming DOJ Secretary Remulla: “Just follow what the law says because you won’t go wrong. You will never go wrong if you uphold the law. Kung ano yung tingin mong tama with the law yun ang gawin mo (You should do what you think is right under the law).”
Once Remulla becomes justice secretary, Guevarra said he will have to face “not yung level of complexity but the huge number of concerns that he will have to deal with.”
He expressed hope that “certain positive things that we have done would continue to see the light during the tenure of the incoming Justice Secretary.”