JBC invites 5 senior justices to apply for CJ position

MANILA, Philippines — Five senior justices of the Supreme Court have been “invited” to apply for the position of chief justice ahead of the retirement of Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo on Nov. 6.

“The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has invited the five most senior associate justices of the Supreme Court… to apply for the vacancy that will arise upon the retirement of Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo,” SC spokesperson Camille Sue Mae Ting said in a statement yesterday.

The five justices invited were Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Ramon Paul Hernando, Henri Jean Paul Inting and Rodil Zalameda.

“Since the early 2000s, the JBC has followed the practice of inviting the five most senior Associate Justices to apply for the Chief Justice post as a matter of courtesy and in recognition of their seniority,” Ting said.

Leonen was appointed to the SC in November 2012, making him the most senior among the SC justices. Caguioa entered the high court in January 2016, Hernando in October 2018, Inting in February 2019 and Zalameda in August 2019.

Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, who was supposedly more senior than Zalameda, having been appointed in March 2019, is set to retire in November when she reaches the retirement age of 70. Meanwhile, the remaining eight justices were appointed between January 2020 and June 2025.