SC Associate Justice Noel Tijam. INQUIRER FILE / NOY MORCOSO
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra announced Wednesday the names of 20 aspirants to replace Supreme Court Associate Justice Noel Tijam next year.
Gueverra, in a text message, said the candidates included 13 justices from the Court of Appeals (CA) and three from the Sandiganbayan.
The CA justices vying for SC associate justice are:
Manuel Barrios
Ramon Bato Jr.
Apolinario Bruselas Jr.
Rosemari Carandang
Ramon Cruz
Stephen Cruz
Edgardo delos Santos
Japar Dimaampao
Ramon Garcia
Amy Lazaro-Javier
Mario Lopez
Ricardo Rosario
Eduardo Peralta Jr.
Sandiganbayan justices vying for the post are:
Amparo Cabotaje-Tang
Efren dela Cruz
Alex Quiros
Other aspirants are Davao Regional Trial Court Judge Virginia Tehano-Ang, Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez, lawyer Cesar Villanueva, and De La Salle University College of Law Vice Dean Rita Linda Jimeno.
President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Tijam to High Court in March 2017.
He was the second Duterte appointee to the Supreme Court after Associate Justice Samuel Martires.
Tijam will retire on Jan. 5, 2019, almost two years after his appointment. /cbb