The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is set to hold an online interview Wednesday for three candidates vying for a vacant seat at the Supreme Court (SC).
SC Clerk of Court and JBC Ex-Officio Secretary Edgar Aricheta said in a notice that those who will undergo an online interview before the JBC are Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Japar Dimaampao, and Ateneo de Manila University law dean Sedfrey Candelaria.
Aside from them, there are eight other candidates vying for the seat.
They are Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez, Sandiganbayan Justice Oscar Herrera Jr., and CA Justices Nina Antonio Valenzuela, Apolinario Bruselas Jr., Ramon Cruz, Jhosep Lopez, Eduardo Peralta Jr., and Maria Filomena Singh.
Aricheta said the eight candidates no longer have to undergo interviews since their “previous interviews are still valid.”
Aricheta said the public may “submit a sworn complaint, report, or opposition against any of the aforesaid applicants.”
The lone SC seat was vacated by retired SC Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla who chose to retire early last Nov. 3.
President Duterte appointed Padilla to the SC on July 16, 2020 to fill the seat left open by retired SC Justice Andres Reyes Jr. Prior her appointment to the SC, Padilla has served as a magistrate of the CA since 2006.