Palace: West PH Sea dispute stance not a factor in Chief Justice selection

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Thursday insisted that the South China Sea issue will not be a factor in the selection of the new Supreme Court chief justice as Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has again been nominated for the top magistrate post.

Carpio has been actively criticizing the Duterte administration for shelving the Philippines landmark arbitral victory against China’s expansive claim in the West Philippine Sea.

However, Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo assured that the chief justice nominees’ stance on the maritime row “doesn’t matter” to the President.

“It doesn’t matter to him. What is important is he is highly qualified for the delicate job of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

Carpio was automatically nominated to the post to be vacated by Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 on Oct. 18.

But Carpio, who retires on Oct. 26, has yet to decide whether or not he would vie for the post.

READ: Carpio gets nominated as CJ for 4th time

This will be the fourth time Carpio has been nominated for the post but he was bypassed for the chief justice position thrice—in the appointments of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2010, ousted Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno in 2012, and Bersamin last year. /muf