JUSTICE Secretary Benjamin Caguioa, Solicitor General Florin Hilbay and former Commission on Audit Chair Grace Pulido-Tan are among the 16 applicants and nominees for the Supreme Court seat to be vacated by retiring Justice Martin Villarama Jr. in January.
Presiding Justices Andres Reyes Jr. of the Court of Appeals and Amparo Cabotaje-Tang of the Sandiganbayan antigraft court are also on the list compiled by the Judicial and Bar Council, the constitutional body tasked with screening candidates for the high tribunal.
Others on the list are Court of Appeals Justices Apolinario Bruselas Jr., Rosmari Carandang, Mariflor Castillo and Stephen Cruz; Sandiganbayan Justices Maria Cristina Cornejo and Alex Quiroz; Citizens Battle Against Corruption Rep. Cinchona Cruz-Gonzales, Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Gerard Mosquera, Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III of the Department of Justice, Quezon City Judge Reynaldo Daway and private law practitioner Joe-Santos Bisquera.