JBC releases shortlist for SC post to be vacated by Justice Brion

Six Court of Appeals (CA) justices and a law professor have been included in the final list of nominees for the Supreme Court (SC) post to be vacated by retiring Associate Justice Arturo Brion on December 29.

CA Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang topped the shortlist voted on by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Friday with six votes.

Tied for second place are CA Justices Apolinario Bruselas Jr., Jose Reyes Jr., and Japar Dimaampao, who all got five votes each.

Completing the list are CA Justices Amy Lazaro-Javier and Noel Tijam and Centro Escolar University law school vice dean Rita Linda Ventura-Jimeno, who clinched four votes each from the JBC.

Bruselas, Reyes and Dimaampao were also shortlisted, along with CA Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr. and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Samuel Martires, to succeed SC Justice Jose Perez, who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 on December 14.

Selected from 17 aspirants, the names of the seven candidates for Brion's successor will be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte, who has 90 days from the time of vacancy to make the appointment.

The JBC, which screens nominees for vacant posts in the judiciary and the Offices of the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman, is headed by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Its members include the justice secretary and representatives from Congress, academe, retired SC justices, private sector, and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. — VVP, GMA News