JBC recommends 4 nominees for SC vacancy

MANILA, Philippines — The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Monday released a shortlist of nominees vying for a seat at the Supreme Court to replace retired Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna. Included in the JBC list were Court of Appeals Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin, who got eight votes; CA Associate Justice Martin Villarama, seven votes; CA Associate Justice Hakim Abdulwahid, five votes; and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Francis Villaruz, also with five votes. The list will be submitted to President Arroyo, who has 90 days to choose from the four nominees. Bersamin, Villarama, and Villaruz were all recommended by the Supreme Court for inclusion on the JBC's short list. Villaruz is one of the three Sandiganbayan justices who convicted former President Joseph Estrada for plunder. SC Spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said Villarama, Bersamin, and Villaruz got nine votes each from the Supreme Court, who sat in an en banc session last Tuesday, topping 15 other contenders vying for the vacant position. The JBC is the constitutionally-created body that screens and recommends to the president the appointees to SC vacancies. It is constitutionally mandated to submit at least three nominees to vacancies in the high Court. Azcuna, who penned the Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), ended his stint at the Supreme Court last month. He retired after reaching the mandatory age requirement of 70. - with Carlo Lorenzo, GMANews.TV