MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte will have to wait for a short list of candidates for the Supreme Court Chief Justice post before he could select a replacement for the ousted top magistrate Maria Lourdes Sereno.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the President will follow the process of waiting for a shortlist of candidates from the Judicial Bar Council (JBC) before appointing a new one to fill Sereno’s vacated post.
Aside from Sereno, Roque said that another post will also be vacated by Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., who will be retiring on August 8.
“The JBC will have to submit a short list for the candidates of Chief Justice, as well as another seat for the Supreme Court ‘no. Bukod pa po doon sa seat na iba-vacate po ni (This will be aside from the seat which will be vacated by) Justice Velasco, who will be retiring,” Roque said.
Velasco is among those who voted against the quo warranto petition against Sereno.
According to reports, magistrates applying for Velasco’s post are Court of Appeals Justices Jose Reyes, Rosmari Declaro-Carandang, Ramon Bato, Ramon Hernando, Ramon Garcia, Oscar Badelles, Manuel Barrios, Apolinario Bruselas, and Amy Lazaro-Javier.
Meanwhile, this will be the third time for Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez to apply for a seat in the 15-member court.
The other hopefuls are Ateneo College of Law Dean Cesar Villanueva and Davao City Regional Trial Court Judge Carlos Espero.
Velasco’s replacement would be Duterte’s fifth appointee to the high court, the others being Associate Justices Samuel Martires, Noel Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr., and Alexander Gesmundo. (With reports from Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
