15 out of 69 accept nomination for chief justice post

The Supreme Court building in Manila. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippine – At least 15 out of 69 people who have been nominated for the post of chief justice have accepted their nomination as of Monday, July 2, the last day for filing of nominations and applications for the position.

Lawyer Jose Mejia, a regular member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) representing the academe, however told Radyo Inquirer 990AM in an interview that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, who announced their intention to accept their nomination to the post over the weekend, have yet to formally inform the JBC of their decision.

Mejia said 13 have declined their nomination for the chief magistrate post. He added that Monday is also the deadline for nominees to formally inform the JBC of their acceptance or rejection of their nomination.

Mejia said that Carpio and De Lima will have to inhibit from the selection process once they have formally accepted their nomination. If this happens, the JBC will only be left with six members who will vote on the nominees who have accepted their nomination, have prequalified and met requirements set by the council.

But Mejia explained that the Supreme Court could replace Carpio with the next senior justice for the voting process.

Mejia said the names of those who pass the prequalifying stage of the selection process will be published and the public will have 10 days to scrutinize the nominees and to express opposition, if there’s any, to the nomination of any of the candidates.

He said that they would set the dates for the public interviews afterwards.

Mejia added that they might schedule to meet with eight nominees per day, giving each 30 to 40 minutes for the interview.

He said under the JBC rules, they are supposed to come up with a shortlist of around five names and to finally cut this down to three for submission to the President.

For more of the interview, listen to Radyo Inquirer 990AM.