14 names vying for SC post

There are 14 aspirants for one of the two vacancies in the Supreme Court come December, based on records from the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

The 14 nominees will vie for the position which will be vacated by Associate Justice Jose Perez who is set to retire on Dec. 14. All the applicants will be screened by the JBC and submit a shortlist to President Rodrigo Duterte. List of nominees include Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr. and Associate Justices Jose Reyes Jr., Apolinario Bruselas Jr., Rosmari Carandang, Stephen Cruz, Japar Dimaampao and Noel Tijam; and Sandiganbayan Associate Justices Samuel Martires and Alex Quiroz. Also nominated are regional trial court Judges Rowena Apao-Adlawan and Reynaldo Daway, chief public attorney Persida Rueda-Acosta, chief state counsel Ricardo Paras and Centro Escolar University law school vice dean Rita Linda Ventura-Jimeno. The JBC received the names following the deadline for nomination and application last Sept.20. The JBC is constitutionally mandated to screen applicants in the judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman. However, JBC has yet to publish the names of the official nominees as their qualifications and requirements are still being reviewed. Under the rules, names of the applicants and nominees will be published to invite the public to submit their support for or opposition to the nomination. The aspirants will also undergo psychological test and public interviews before the council comes up with a shortlist which will be submitted to the President. Perez, who earned the moniker the “homegrown justice,” started his career in the judiciary in 1971 as a legal assistant and rose from the ranks until he was appointed as Associate Justice in 2009. Perez graduated in the top 10 of his class in both his political science and law studies at the University of the Philippines. His academic achievements gained him entry to the Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Gamma Mu Honor Societies as well as the Order of the Purple Feather, the UP Law Honor Society. Aside from Perez, Associate Justice Arturo Brion will also retire at the mandatory age of 70 on Dec. 29. Submission of nominations and applications for his replacement closed on Tuesday but the JBC has yet to come up with an initial list. RAM

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