JBC: Nominees for CJ will fit all requirements

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said yesterday the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will nominate aspirants who meet all constitu-

tional and documentary requirements for the post of Chief Justice.

Guevarra, ex-officio vice chair of the JBC, said strict screening of all aspirants would prevent a similar case that led to the ouster of Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno as head of the judiciary in a quo warranto petition.

Sereno was ousted for her failure to submit her statements of assets, liabilities and networth (SALNs) for 10 years as required.

“There is no new substantial requirement but there will be more careful screening this time,” Guevarra said.

“Surely the Sereno quo warranto case has taught us many lessons from which we in the JBC can draw guidance in future deliberations not only for the Chief Justice position but also for all judicial positions which require utmost honesty and impeccable integrity,” he said.

At least five members of the judiciary – four Supreme Court (SC) justices and a regional trial court (RTC) judge – are now aspiring to be Chief Justice.

Aspirants are SC Justices Teresita J. Leonardo de Castro, Diosdado M. Peralta, Lucas P. Bersamin and Andres B. Reyes Jr., and RTC Executive Judge Virginia Tejano Ang of Tagum City in Davao del Norte.

De Castro, Peralta and Bersamin are automatically nominated to the post in line with the announcement of the JBC. They merely needed their confirmation which they had submitted to the council.

In the case of Reyes, he accepted his nomination made by then JBC member and former Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Raoul Victorino who also nominated all SC justices.

In declaring vacant and open for applications or nominations the post of Chief Justice, the JBC announced that “the five most senior associate justices of the SC are automatically nominated subject to the submission of a written acceptance of nomination to be submitted on or before July 26, 2018.”

Based on seniority, the top five SC justices as of today are Acting Chief Justice Antonio T. Carpio and Justices Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., De Castro, Peralta, and Bersamin. Velasco and De Castro are retiring on August 8 and October 26, respectively, this year when they reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 for members of the judiciary.

Carpio had declined his automatic nomination and those submitted by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and former Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Jr.

Peralta still has four years in the judiciary, while Bersamin is retiring next year. Both were appointees of former President and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2009.

The JBC is expected to meet on August 3 to vote and finalize its nominees to the Chief Justice Post.

Under the Constitution, President Duterte is mandated to appoint Sereno’s replacement within 90 days from June 19, the date of the finality of the decision that ousted Sereno, from the list of nominees that would be submitted to him by the JBC.