‘Speedy’ judge top contender for Sandiganbayan post

THE judge who in one month con topped the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) shortlist for a vacancy in

In a voting conducted by the JBC, headed by acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, Makati Regional Trial Court ( RTC) Judge Gina Bibat- Palamos got six votes from the seven mem

Palamos convicted Jeremy Douglas Harold Arthur Eaton of a case against the Canadian on

The judge convicted Eaton on

Palamos sentenced Eaton to life imprisonment and ordered him sold 160 ecstasy pills to an undercover agent on Mercado Street in

Also making it to the JBC shortlist is Makati RTC Judge Ronald

Santa Cruz (Laguna) RTC Judge Divina Gracia Bustos- Ongkeko and Ligao (Albay) RTC Judge Ed

The post at the anti-graft court became vacant as a result of the appointment of former Sandiganbayan Justice Alexander Gesmundo to Meanwhile, Evalyn Arellano-Morales with seven votes topped the race for another vacancy in the Court of Appeals that was caused by the early retirement of CA Jus Also making it to the JBC list were Bansalan ( Davao del Sur) RTC Judge Loida Posadas-Kahulugan and Tuguegarao City (Cagayan) RTC Judge Raymund Reynold

With four votes were Masbate City RTC Judge Arturo Clemente Revil, Marikina City RTC Judge Acerey Pacheco, San Mateo (Rizal) RTC Judge Lily Biton and Quezon City RTC Judge Judges Mary Ange

The Judicial and Bar Council is constitutionally mandated to screen and vet nominees to the President for vacant posts in the judiciary and the Offices of the Ombudsman and

It is headed by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, who is on - ard Gordon, Oriental Mindoro Retired SC Justice Jose Catral-Mendoza is the head of the Execu Lawyer Jose Mejia, who represents the academe; Milagros Fernan-Cayosa, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and retired Judge Toribio Ilao, the private sector, are