Three junior SC justices endorsed for chief justice

The Judicial and Bar Council has received letters endorsing three junior justices of the Supreme Court for the vacant post of chief justice. If the recommendations prosper, they could be considered along with the applications of other aspirants, including those of the five most senior members of the high court.   Thus far, at least 29 individuals applied for, were recommended, or were automatically nominated for the post.   Of the 29, two individuals were disqualified. Teacher-nurse Jocelyn Esquivel is not a lawyer. Former Court of Appeals Justice Hilarion Aquino is already 80 years old, which is way past the retirement age of 70 for SC justices.   The JBC deadline for accepting applications is on June 18.   Endorsed   Associate Justices Roberto Abad, Jose Perez, and Ma. Lourdes Sereno were the subject of different endorsements.   Lawyer Nilo Divina recommended  Justice Abad, former law dean at the University of Santo Tomas. The Asia-Pacific Bar Association Inc. endorsed Justice Perez.   Three persons—Felma Roel Singco, Raegan de Guzman, and Atty. Fidel Thaddeus Borja—prefer Justice Sereno for chief justice   Traditionally, only the five most senior Supreme Court justices get "automatic nomination" when the chief justice post becomes vacant.   Those most senior SC justices now are acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, and Diosdado Peralta. To be formally considered for the vacancy, they must formally accept the endorsements.   Abad   Abad graduated with a law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, and eventually taught law at the University of Santo Tomas starting in 1978.   He joined the government in 1969 and became a technical assistant and associate attorney at the Supreme Court. He was promoted to Assistant Solicitor General in 1985.   He was legal counsel for Equitable Banking Corp during the impeachment trial of former President Joseph E. Estrada in 2000.   He has given free legal services to the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Angels of Hope Orphanage, Pulong Bunga, Silang, Cavite.   Perez   While in school, Perez was class valedictorian of the Batangas City High School, and was in the Top 10 of the graduating class during his undergraduate and law school days at the University of the Philippines.   After graduating from law school, Perez immediately joined the Supreme Court as a legal assistant in the Office of the Reporter.   He was named Assistant Court Administrator in 1996, Deputy Court Administrator in 2000, and ultimately Court Administrator in 2008. He was appointed as Associate Justice in December 2009.   In its letter of recommendation, the APBAI noted Perez's four decades of service in the Supreme Court. The group believed Perez, if appointed as new chief justice, can bring the judiciary "out of the shadows" of Corona's impeachment.   "In a nutshell, he is a career member of the judiciary now serving as one of the independent jurists," said APBAI president lawyer Purisimo Buyco.   Sereno   Sereno, 51, was President Benigno Aquino III's first appointee to the Supreme Court. She is the youngest to be appointed to the high court this century.   Sereno became executive director of the Asian Institute of Management in 2009 and  was president of Accesslaw Inc in April 2000.   She has taught law at the University of the Philippines, Philippine Judicial Academy, the Hague Academy of International Law, University of Western Australia, and Murdoch University.   She is an economics graduate from the Ateneo and earned her bachelor's degree in law from UP. From the University of Michigan, she earned her Master's Degree in Law. — ELR, GMA News