Leonen denies asking Duterte to name him chief justice

Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Marvic Leonen on Tuesday denied he had asked President Rodrigo Duterte for the position of chief justice.

"That's pure false that I am able to speak to the President. It's one thing, and second, it is ridiculous that I asked for the position of chief justice," he said at a forum held at the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

"I am number eight (8th most senior), and besides that, I know that the top five, the five most senior (justices) are most qualified to become chief justice. Anyone of them can become chief justice," he added.

The pro-administration blog Thinking Pinoy in late June ran a post that said Leonen flew to Davao City and spoke to Duterte, the appointing authority, to "express his interest in becoming the next chief justice."

Leonen has earlier said he does not aspire to be the country's top jurist, deferring to his more senior colleagues in the High Court, five of whom were automatically nominated to assume the post vacated by ousted chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

The constitutionally-mandated 90-day period to fill the SC vacancy started on June 25, days after the decision against Sereno became final.

The application period set by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for aspirants to the vacancy will end on July 26. No one has applied so far, but one member of the screening body believes the applications will come in when the deadline draws near.

Automatically nominated for the post are Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Diosdado Peralta, and Lucas Bersamin, subject to the submission of their written acceptance of nomination.

Carpio, who voted against the plea to unseat Sereno, has declared that he would turn down any nomination in what he said was a refusal to benefit from Sereno's ouster.

But this pronouncement has not stopped the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and former chief justice Hilario Davide, Jr. from endorsing his automatic nomination.

Velasco will compulsorily retire in August. De Castro will similarly step down in October. — MDM, GMA News