Leonen declines nomination to be next Chief Justice

Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen has declined the nomination for him to succeed ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

In a letter to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) dated July 26, 2018, Leonen formalized an earlier public remark that he was deferring to the five most senior justices of the high court in the order of their seniority.

The five most senior SC justices were automatically nominated for the vacant top judiciary seat. Two of them — Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin and Diosdado Peralta — have consented to the recommendations.

Leonen is eighth most senior in terms of year of appointment, but he and the rest of incumbent SC magistrates were recommended to be the next top judge by retired Sandiganbayan justice Raoul Victorino.

"Having received a copy of the letter of Retired Justice Raoul V. Victorino, nominating all the incumbent Justices for the position of Chief Justice, I respectfully decline the nomination," Leonen said in the letter, consistent with an earlier pronouncement that he does not wish to be chief justice.

"In my view, the agreement among the Members that the next Chief Justice should come from the five most senior incumbent justices is a rational policy based on past experience," he added.

Apart from Bersamin and Peralto, Associate Justice Andres Reyes, Jr. has also accepted his nomination. Davao del Norte judge Virginia Tejano-Ang has submitted her application.

Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, most senior SC incumbent, has declined his nomination.

The application period set by the JBC for the High Court closes on Thursday, July 26. —KBK, GMA News