Supreme Court's Azcuna retires today

MANILA, Philippines - Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna of the Supreme Court retires officially from the judiciary today, leaving behind as legacy the writ of amparo, which protects citizens from threats and violations of their right to life, liberty and security.

The retirement paves the way for the appointment by President Arroyo of a new justice to the High Court to replace Azcuna, the 153rd justice appointed to the SC and the eighth most senior among its current composition.

Among the nominees to the vacant SC post being deliberated upon by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) are the 12 applicants who had previously applied for the post left by former SC associate justice Ruben Reyes last Jan. 3, which went to Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Diosdado Peralta.

Two of them, Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera and businessman

Rodolfo Robles, were delisted from the nominees for the Reyes post due to a pending case before the Ombudsman and “age,” respectively.

They were, however, again nominated for the Azcuna post.

The other 10 are: Court of Tax Appeals Presiding Justice Ernesto Acosta; Court of Appeals (CA) Justices Portia Hormachuelos, Martin Villarama, Andres Reyes, Remedios Salazar-Fernando, and Juan Enriquez; Sandiganbayan Justices Edilberto Sandoval and Francisco Villaruz; Ateneo law dean Cesar Villanueva; and former Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Jose Buñag.

Six new names were submitted to the JBC for the selection of replacement of Azcuna: CA Justices Amelita Tolentino, Lucas Bersamin, Hakim Abdulwahid, Japar Dimaampao; University of Santo Tomas law school dean Robert Abad, and human rights lawyer Pablito Sanidad.

Abad was reportedly a former assistant solicitor general during the time of former solicitor general Estelito Mendoza and also lawyer of business tycoon Lucio Tan. Sanidad, on the other hand, was nominated by the human rights group Free Legal Assistance Group.

Tolentino shot to fame when she convicted Hubert Webb, son of former senator Freddie Webb, for the massacre of the Vizconde family.

Abdulwahid and Dimaampao are two of the highest-ranking Muslims in the judiciary.

The JBC earlier announced that those who underwent public interviews for the vacancy caused by Reyes’ retirement will no longer be grilled “since the interview is good for one year.” The names of the applicants will soon be published in a national newspaper.