Representative Niel Tupas Jr. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Aspirants for the top post of the Sandiganbayan will have to wait until July 29 after the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has put on hold its deliberations and voting upon Congress’ request.
JBC was supposed to deliberate and come up with a shortlist of nominees Monday but Congress, particularly Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas, requested to defer the deliberation and voting until Congress determines who should be their representative to the body.
“Congressman Tupas requested for postponement to wait after new Congress convenes [on July 22],”Atty. Jose Mejia, JBC regular member representing the academe, said Monday.
Last April, the high court stood pat on its earlier ruling that only one member of Congress should be at the JBC.
Voting 9-3-3, the high court, in dismissing the appeal filed by Congress, maintained that the JBC should only have 7 instead of 8 members.
The JBC is constitutionally mandated to screen aspirants for the Judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman. Then, it submits a short list of nominees to the President who then will make the appointment.
In its July 2012 ruling, the high court said “to allow the Legislature to have more quantitive influence in the JBC by having more than one voice speak, whether with one full vote or one-half a vote each, would, as one former congressman and member of the JBC put it, ‘negate the principle of equality among the three branches of government which is enshrined in the Constitution.”
Senator Francis Escudero and Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr. are both members of the JBC representing Congress.
The JBC will vote on the short list from a group of nine nominees, namely: Sandiganbayan Associate Justices Teresita Diaz-Baldos, Gregory Ong, Alex Quiros, Amparo Tang, and Efren dela Cruz, Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas, Justice Usec. Leah Armamento, Interior Usec. Rafael Santos and Abra Provincial Prosecutor Nestor Tolentino.