Carpio accepts chief justice nomination

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has accepted his nomination to the chief justice seat vacated by the retired Teresita Leonardo-De Castro.

Carpio, the most senior high court justice, confirmed Friday that he has consented to his automatic nomination, making him the third candidate for the top judiciary post.

He will retire in October next year.

Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin, second and third most senior, have also accepted the seniority-based automatic nomination.

Carpio, who refused to pursue a candidacy to the vacancy created by the ouster of ex-chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, earlier said he no longer has any reason to turn down nomination this time.

De Castro retired this week after sitting as chief justice for a record-short term of little over a month.

A strong advocate for the Philippines' maritime claims, Carpio has repeatedly urged the government to more strongly assert an international court ruling invalidating China's excessive claims to the South China Sea.

He was one of the legal luminaries who defended the Philippines' case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

He has more recently cautioned against the withdrawal of the country's membership from the International Criminal Court, a unilateral move of Duterte's that is now being challenged before the Supreme Court.

Justice Del Castillo declines nomination

Meanwhile, Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo has turned down his nomination.

Citing his retirement next year and his chairmanship of the 2018 Bar examinations, Del Castillo informed the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) that he was declining the automatic nomination on Friday, according to the SC Public Information Office.

"I am honored to be automatically nominated to the post of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court...My compulsory retirement next year, however, compels me to respectfully decline the nomination," he said in a letter to the JBC, as quoted by the PIO.

"I foresee that, as Chairperson of the 2018 Bar Examinations, my work will extend to the months just prior to my retirement. That will leave me not much time to embark on notable projects that a Chief Justice will normally want to have an imprint on," he added.

Del Castillo, currently the fourth most senior justice, will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 on July 29, 2019.

Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, the fifth most senior, is also automatically nominated, but it is not yet known whether or not she will pursue a candidacy.

The JBC has extended the deadline for the application period for chief justice aspirants from October 15 to October 26. — RSJ, GMA News