The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has nominated to President Duterte six appellate court justices to the Supreme Court’s (SC) associate justice post which would be vacant on May 14 with the mandatory retirement of Senior Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas Bernabe.
Nominated were, in alphabetical order, Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Ramon Alcala Cruz and Maria Elisa Sempio Diy, Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Abracia Econg, and CA Associate Justices Ronaldo Roberto Baquizal Martin, Fernanda Lampas Peralta, and Maria Filomena Dumandan Singh.
Bernabe will retire five days after the May 9 national and local elections.
Following the March 17, 2010 SC decision which became final and executory on April 20, 2010, the President can appoint Bernabe’s replacement.
Among other issues, settled with finality by the SC in the 2010 decision was whether then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo could still appoint a Chief Justice as replacement for then Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno who, at that time, was to retire on May 17, 2010, or seven days after the May 10, 2010 national and local elections.
The decision in the consolidated cases, denominated as Arturo M. De Castro vs. Judicial and Bar Council (GR No. 191002), was written by then Associate Justice Lucas P. Bersamin who also eventually became Chief Justice and retired on Oct. 11, 2019.
Settled by the SC was the provision in Section 15, Article VII of the Constitution on the ban on appointments by the President two months before the presidential election and up to the end of his/her term.
The 2010 decision ruled that the ban under Section 15, Article VII of the Constitution does not include appointments to fill up a vacant post in the SC.
Should the President appoint Bernabe’s replacement after her retirement on May 14, the new appointee would be the President’s 13th incumbent appointee in the 15-member SC.
The Duterte-appointed incumbent members of the SC are Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo and Associate Justices Ramon Paul L. Hernando, Amy C. Lazaro Javier, Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, Rodil V. Zalameda, Mario V. Lopez, Samuel H. Gaerlan, Ricardo R. Rosario, Jhosep Y. Lopez, Japar B. Dimaampao, Jose Midas P. Marquez, and Antonio T. Kho Jr.
The two other incumbent members –Associate Justices Marvic M.V.F. Leonen and Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa – were appointees of the late President Benigno S. Aquino III.
The retirement of Bernabe would elevate Leonen to the post of senior associate justice.