JBC to interview Supreme Court applicants

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) Monday will start interviewing those vying for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the appointment of Renato Corona as chief justice. Associate Justice Hakim Abdulwahid of the Court of Appeals (CA), Presiding Justice Ernesto Acosta and Associate Justice Lovell Bautista of the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), and Associate Justices Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo and Japar Dimaampao of the CA are among those who will be interviewed Monday, according to the JBC. Next Wednesday, the JBC will interview Associate Justices Remedios Salazar-Fernando and Portia Hormachuelos of the CA, family lawyer Ma. Carolina "Katrina" Legarda, lawyer-accountant Epifania Mendoza, and former UP Law Dean Raul Pangalangan. On the following day, interviewees are Sandiganbayan Acting Presiding Justice Edilberto Sandoval Jr., Elections Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, Asian Institute of Management Policy Center's executive director Ma. Lourdes Sereno, CA Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr., and CA Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes. On Friday, the JBC will interview University of the East-College of Law Dean Amado Valdez, former Defense undersecretary for legal affairs lawyer Alberto Valenzuela Jr., CA Associate Justice Vicente Veloso, Ateneo Law Dean Cesar Villanueva, and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Francisco Villaruz Jr. Only 20 of 28 the applicants would be subjected to the public interview. The other eight were already interviewed when they earlier applied for the same post. Corona replaced former Chief Justice Renato Puno when he retired on May 17. The JBC interviews candidates for judiciary posts before submitting a list of nominees to the President. The 1987 Constitution provides that the President has 90 days from the date of retirement or the occurrence of vacancy in the judiciary to fill up the position. President Benigno Aquino III has until August 17 to name his first appointee to the High Court. The associate justices that will retire in Aquino's term are Antonio Eduardo Nachura (June 13, 2011), Conchita Carpio-Morales (June 19, 2011), Roberto A. Abad (May 22, 2014) and Martin S. Villarama (April 14, 2016). —VS, GMANews.TV