10 vying to head graft court

MANILA, Philippines—Ten candidates for presiding judge of the antigraft court Sandiganbayan have been named.

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) is set to conduct public interviews of the 10 on June 20-21. The position will be vacated by Sandigan Presiding Judge and Associate Justice Francisco Villaruz Jr.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, the JBC vice chairperson, said on Monday that most of the candidates were Sandigan “insiders.”

The 10 candidates include five incumbent Sandigan associate justices—Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, Efren de la Cruz, Teresita Diaz-Baldos, Gregory Ong and Alex Quiroz. The other “insider” is Court of Appeals Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas Jr.

The four other candidates are Justice Undersecretary Leah Tanodra-Armamento, Defense Undersecretary Rafael Antonio Santos, Abra provincial prosecutor Nestor Tolentino and private lawyer Jaspar Lucero.

There were originally 11 candidates but the last contender did not qualify because he failed to meet the requirement of having served at least five years as a regional trial court judge.—Christine O. Avendaño