JBC lists 9 nominees for vacant Supreme Court post

MANILA, Philippines — The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has shortlisted nine nominees for the position of Supreme Court (SC) associate justice left vacant by the appointment of Samuel Martires as ombudsman last July.

In deliberations yesterday, the JBC selected eight Court of Appeals (CA) magistrates and an SC official from among 13 applicants.

JBC ex-officio member and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara said the shortlist included CA Associate Justices Japar Dimaampao, Ramon Garcia, Manuel Barrios, Apolinario Bruselas, Rosmari Carandang, Edgardo delos Santos, Ramon Paul Hernando and Amy Lazaro-Javier and court administrator Jose Midas Marquez.

Dimaampao and Garcia topped the shortlist after getting six votes from the JBC members, followed by Barrios, Brussels and Carandang with five votes each. Delos Santos, Hernando, Lazaro-Javier and Marquez got four votes each.

Marquez made it to the shortlist despite opposition by presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who accused him of moving to have a disbarment case against her withdrawn in order to obtain favor for his appointment to the SC.

The disbarment case was filed in 2011 by the Sheriffs Confederation of the Philippines over an incident where Carpio punched a court sheriff in Davao City during a demolition of shanties.

Marquez denied the allegation and clarified that he only spoke to the sheriffs’ confederation in September or five months after the group decided to withdraw the disbarment case against Carpio in April.

Marquez started his career in the SC in 1991 as a law clerk for several justices and was appointed court administrator in 2010.

He served as spokesman for the SC during the terms of former chief justice Reynato Puno and the late Renato Corona.

Another prominent nominee is Hernando, who is known in the CA for his zero backlog – with 417 cases disposed in 2013 and 370 in 2012.

Hernando served as DOJ prosecutor for five years, before being appointed judge of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 93.

Hernando teaches law at San Beda, Ateneo and University of Santo Tomas. He was a three-time Bar examiner in commercial law.

The seven-member council screened the nominees during public interviews last week.

The JBC submitted the shortlist to Malacañang yesterday.

It started receiving nominations and applications for the top judicial post to be left vacant by the retirement of Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro next week.

The 1987 Constitution requires a vacancy in the SC to be filled within 90 days.