JBC screens 1st batch of candidates for 2 SC posts

EXPERIENCE, integrity, credibility, independence and knowledge on cases and the rule of law were at the core of the questions asked by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), as it interviewed on Wednesday the first batch of candidates vying for the posts to be vacated by two Supreme Court (SC) associate justices retiring in December.

Seven candidates were interviewed as possible replacements of Associate Justice Jose P. Perez, who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 on Dec. 14.

Scheduled for interview on Wednesday morning were Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta, Centro Escolar University School of Law and Jurisprudence Associate Dean Rita Linda S. Ventura-Jimeno, Davao City Regional Trial Court judge Rowena M. Apao-Adlawan, and Court of Appeals ( CA) Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao.

Interviewed in the afternoon were Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Samuel R. Martires, Department of Justice (DOJ) Chief State Counsel Ricardo V. Paras III, and CA Associate Justice Noel G. Tijam.

The interviewers were JBC Executive Committee Chairperson Angelina Sandoval- Gutierrez who represented the retired SC Justices, Jose V. Mejia who represented the academe, Toribio E. Ilao, Jr. who represented the private sector, and Maria Milagros N. Fernan-Cayosa who represented the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

Of the candidates who brought with them recommendations and endorsement letters, Ms. Acosta, who was persuaded by President Rodrigo R. Duterte to apply for associate justice, and Ms. Jimeno, who was recommended by former president Fidel V. Ramos, both asserted their independence regardless of their backing.

Mr. Tijam also maintained his independence, amid the background of his being a classmate of Mr. Duterte in law school.

The candidates were also interviewed about current public issues including extrajudicial killings, the planned restoration of the death penalty, the South China Sea, mining, same-sex marriage, federalism, and the writ of habeas corpus.

Recent decisions including by the Supreme Court were also discussed, such as the planned hero’s burial for the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s dismissed plunder case, and, dating back to the last election campaign, Senator Grace Poe’s citizenship.

On Ms. Acosta’s answers regarding the Marcos burial and other topics, Ms. Gutierrez noted to the PAO chief that an SC justice “should be well-read.”

Ms. Gutierrez also advised Ms. Adlawan that she should try applying first for a Sandiganbayan or CA position.

Ms. Jimeno for her part said the Senate as an impeachment court committed an “error” by convicting the late chief justice Renato C. Corona. Her daughter, lawyer Karen Olivia V. Jimeno, had served as spokesperson for Mr. Corona’s defense team.