Comelec exec quits bid for SC post

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections Commissioner Antonio Kho Jr. has withdrawn his application for the post of Supreme Court associate justice vacated by Edgardo delos Santos, who sought optional retirement on June 30, SC spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka confirmed yesterday.

“I was told that he withdrew his application,” Hosaka told reporters in a Viber message when asked why Kho was not interviewed by members of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) during the public interview on Wednesday.

Hosaka said he is not aware of Kho’s reasons for withdrawal.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, a JBC ex-officio member, said Kho sent a letter to the council stating his intention to withdraw his application on the day before his scheduled public interview.

Asked what prompted Kho’s withdrawal, Guevarra said that “no reason was given.”

Kho, who served as undersecretary of the Department of Justice when Vitaliano Aguirre II was the secretary, was one of those who was told by Guevarra to resign when he took over the DOJ’s top post in April 2018.

President Duterte appointed Kho to the Comelec shortly after he resigned from the DOJ.

Hosaka said Kho was the only applicant for the SC associate justice post who opted to withdraw his application.

Applicants Antonette Tionko, Apolinario Bruselas, Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Ramon Cruz were interviewed as scheduled.

Japar Dimaampo, Geraldine Faith Econg, Jose Midas Marquez, Ronaldo Roberto Martin, Maria Filomena Singh and Raul Villanueva were interviewed on Thursday.