MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has once again declined his nomination to the Supreme Court, saying his service at the Department of Justice is most needed now that the country is facing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Retired Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Raoul Victorino again nominated Guevarra again as Associate Justice of the High Court.
In a letter to Victorino dated July 4, Guevarra expressed his gratitude for again being nominated, adding that it is the dream of many lawyers to be appointed to serve in the Supreme Court.
“Your nomination has again once opened a path for me to pursue this dream, and this may very well be my last chance to go for it, considering the new rules on appointment to the Supreme Court,” he said.
“It is unfortunate, however, that this opportunity has come at a time when my services as Secretary of the Department of Justice are most needed,” Guevarra added.
He noted that the country is facing a “huge and unprecedented crisis” because of COVID-19 and it is “especially during these troubled times that law and order must be preserved and maintained.”
This is the second time that Victorino has nominated Guevarra to the post, the first being in 2019 where the Justice Secretary declined it for the reason that he was “still in love with his agency.”
Prior to his appointment as DOJ secretary, Guevarra served as Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs in the Office of the President.
He was also part of the Philippine legal team that filed the arbitration case against China at the Hague over Beijing’s incursions in the disputed South China Sea.