
Fifteen aspirants will slug it out for nominations to a vacant associate justice post in the 15-member Supreme Court (SC).
The vacancy was a result of the promotion last April 5 of then Associate Justice Alexander G. Gusmundo as Chief Justice and head of the country’s judiciary.
Under the rules, the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) – the constitutional office that accepts, screens and nominates appointments to the judiciary – will submit to President Duterte at least three nominees for every vacant post in the judiciary.
The President, under the Constitution, has 90 days from the date of the vacancy to name his appointee.
The seven applicants who will be interviewed by the JBC on June 2 are private law practitioner Benedicta A. Du Balabad, Sandiganbayan Associate Justices Geraldine Faith A. Econg and Rafael R. Lagos, and Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Ronaldo Roberto B. Martin.
To be interviewed on June 3 are Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Alex L. Quiroz, Finance Undersecretary Antonette C. Tionko, and Deputy Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva.
The eight other applicants whose previous JBC interviews are still valid are Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez; CA Associate Justices Nina G. Antonio Valenzuela, Apolinario D. Bruselas Jr., Ramon A. Cruz, Japar B. Dimaampao, and Maria Filomena D. Singh; Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje Tang, and former Ateneo de Manila University law dean Sedfrey M. Candelaria.
The SC is now on its decision-writing period until June 11. Sessions in its divisions and in the full court will resume June 14 and June 15, respectively.