The Supreme Court has come up with a shortlist of four nominees for an impending vacancy in the 15-member bench as Associate Justice Noel Tijam reaches his mandatory retirement in January next year.
During an en banc session on Tuesday, the SC selected three Court of Appeals justices and an SC official among 19 aspirants as possible successor of Justice Tijam.
Those who made it to the SC shortlist include CA Associate Justice Manuel Barrios, who topped the list with seven votes, followed by CA Associate Justices Ramon Bato Jr. and Ramon Garcia and Court Administrator Midas Marquez who each got six votes.
The list was submitted to the Judicial and Bar Council for consideration in voting for the shortlist set this Friday, Marquez said in his first press conference as spokesman of the Court under Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin.
Marquez said that during the JBC voting, Bersamin will carry the SC’s list when he casts his vote as chair of the council tasked to screen aspirants to the judicial post.
Before voting on the shortlist, the seven-member JBC will conduct public interviews of aspirants for the vacancy today (Wednesday).
Among those who will face the JBC are CA Associate Justices Ramon Cruz, Eduardo Peralta, Ricardo Rosario, and Bato.
Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz will also be interviewed by the council.
The 13 other applicants for the high court’s associate justice position will not face the JBC because their previous public interviews for earlier vacancies remain valid.
They are CA Associate Justices Stephen Cruz, Edgardo delos Santos, Japar Dimaampao, Amy Lazaro-Javier, Mario Lopez, Edgardo delos Santos, Barrios and Garcia; Marquez; Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Alex Quiros; Tagum Regional Trial Court Judge Virginia Tehano-Ang; and former Ateneo law dean Cesar Villanueva and De La Salle University law vice dean Rita Linda Jimeno.
Tijam was appointed SC magistrate on March 8, 2017, and was President Duterte’s second appointee at the high tribunal.
Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, Tijam served as a justice at the Court of Appeals
Duterte is expected to appoint over 10 members of the high court during his six-year term. He already appointed seven justices so far—now Ombudsman Samuel Martires, Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr., Alexander Gesmundo, Jose Reyes Jr., Ramon Paul Hernando, and Rosmari Carandang.