5 appellate court justices seek SC post

The Supreme Court acancy was created by the elevation of associate justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice on Aug. 24. AP

Five Court of Appeals justices are among the nine persons vying to become associate justice of the Supreme Court.

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), which vets and screens nominees to the Supreme Court, said the aspirants are Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr. and Justices Ramon Bato Jr., Isaias Dicdican and Noel Tijam; Presidential Commission on Good Government chair Cesar Villanueva; human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno; Securities and Exchange Commission chair Teresita Herbosa; and former Davao City judge Adoracion Cruz Avisado.

Bato, Reyes and Herbosa applied for the vacancy while the rest accepted nominations by other parties.

Herbosa, Diokno and Villanueva were also nominated to or applied for the position of Chief Justice although only Villanueva made it to the JBC shortlist.

The three will be exempted from the public interviews that the other nominees will be subjected to by the JBC.

The vacancy was created by the elevation of associate justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice on Aug. 24.