MANILA — The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) released a shortlist of candidates vying for vacancies in the Sandiganbayan and Court of Appeals (CA).
Four candidates, namely Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Gina Bibat-Palamos, Makati RTC Judge Ronald Moreno, Sta. Cruz, Laguna RTC Judge Divinagracia Bustos-Ongkeko and Ligao, Albay RTC Judge Edwin Ma-alat will be vying for the Sandiganbayan Associate Justice post vacated by SC Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo.
After the voting conducted by the JBC, headed by Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, Bibat-Palamos notched six votes out of the seven members of the August council while Moreno got five votes, followed by Bustos-Ongkeko and Edwin Ma-alat with four votes each.
Palamos convicted Canadian national Jeremy Douglas Harold Arthur Eaton within a period of one month after filing the same on July 13, 2016, the judge ordered the conviction on August 31, 2016.
She sentenced Eaton to life imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine of half a million pesos after he sold 160 ecstasy pills to an undercover operative on Mercado Street in Makati.
Meanwhile, topping the list of aspirants for the vacancy at the Court of Appeals (CA) due to the early retirement of Associate Justice Melchor Sadang is Evalyn Arellano-Morales with seven votes.
Also making it to the list are Bansalan, Davao del Sur RTC Judge Loida Posadas-Kahulugan and Tuguegarao, Cagayan RTC Judge Raymund Reynold Lauigan with five votes each while Masbate City RTC Judge Arturo Clemente Revil, Marikina RTC Judge Acerey Pacheco and Quezon City RTC Judge Mary Angelene Quimpo-Sale all got four votes each.
The names will be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte, who is the appointing authority pursuant to Article VIII, Section 9 of the 1987 Constitution.
The JBC is constitutionally mandated to screen and vet nominees to the President for vacant posts in the judiciary and the Offices of the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
