Carpio: No more reason to decline Chief Justice nomination

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. EDWIN BACASMAS / INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio sees no more reason to decline his automatic nomination for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The top magistrate post will soon become vacant as current Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro reaches her mandatory retirement by next week.

“There is no more reason for me to decline,” Carpio told reporters on Wednesday.

Carpio is one of the five most senior Associate Justices of the Supreme Court who are automatically nominated for the Chief Justice post.

However, they have to accept the nomination before they are considered by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) as a candidate.

During the search to replace ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Carpio declined the nomination saying he does not want to benefit from a process that he opposed.

Carpio is one of the justices who dissented in the May 11, 2018 decision of the high court, removing Sereno as Chief Justice via a quo warranto petition.

READ: Carpio formally declines nomination for chief justice

However, when asked if he already submitted a letter of acceptance to the JBC, Carpio said: “I have not submitted any letter yet.”

The deadline for submission of letters of acceptance and other requirements is on October 15. /kga