Bersamin retires; Carpio is acting CJ
After serving the judiciary for 33 years, Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin retires at midnight Thursday, October 17, as the 25th head of the country’s judiciary.
On Friday, October 18, Bersamin turns 70, the mandatory retirement age for members of the
judiciary.
Automatically, Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio assumes as acting Chief Justice until his retirement on October 26.
If President Duterte has not appointed a new Chief Justice between October 18 and 26, Associate Justice Diosdado M. Peralta will assume as acting Chief Justice.
Peralta and Associate Justices Estela M. Perlas Bernabe and Andres B. Reyes Jr. have been nominated by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to the post of Chief Justice.
Under the Constitution, the President has 90 days from October 18 to appoint Bersamin’s replacement from among the three nominees submitted by the JBC.
Once a new Chief Justice is appointed, there would be three vacancies in the 15-member Supreme Court (SC). These are the post of associate justices left with the retirement of Francis H. Jardeleza last September 26, the post that would be vacated by Carpio on October 26, and the slot that would be left by whoever would be appointed Chief Justice.
While the JBC has submitted its nominees to the post vacated by Jardeleza, the President has not issued any appointment as of 9 a.m. on Thursday, October 17.
Earlier nominated by the JBC to replace Jardeleza were Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje Tang, and Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justices Edgardo L. Delos Santos, Japar B. Dimaampao, Samuel H. Gaerlan, Ramon R. Garcia, Jhoseph Y. Lopez, Mario V. Lopez, Maria Filomena D. Singh, Edwin D. Sorongon, and Elihu Ybanez.
Nominated as Carpio’s replacement were Marquez and CA Associate Justices Manuel M. Barrios, Delos Santos, Dimaampao, Garcia, Jhoseph Y. Lopez, Pablito A. Perez, Ricardo R. Rosario, and Singh.
Once the three vacant posts of
associate justice are filled up by the President, he would then have 11 appointees in the 15-member SC, on top of his appointment of the Chief Justice as Bersamin’s replacement.
The eight incumbent SC justices appointed by the President are, based on seniority, Associate Justices Andres B. Reyes Jr., Alexander G. Gesmundo, Jose C. Reyes Jr., Ramon Paul L. Hernando, Rosmari D. Caranding, Amy C. Lazaro Javier, Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, and Rodil V. Zalameda.
Bersamin earned his bachelor’s degree, major in political science, from the University of the Philippines in 1968. He finished his law degree in 1973 at the University of the East.
He was the ninth placer in the 1973 bar examinations with a score of 100 per cent in criminal law.
In 1986, Bersamin was appointed judge of the regional trial court (RTC) in Quezon City. He was promoted CA associate justice in 2003. In 2009, he was elevated to the SC as associate justice. He was appointed Chief Justice on November 28, 2018.