Retired SC justice Tijam appointed to JBC

Retired Supreme Court associate justice Noel Tijam has been appointed to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday.

Tijam will be representing the academe, said Guevarra, an ex-officio member of the council, which screens applicants to vacancies in the judiciary.

The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Commission on Appointments, the Justice chief said in a message to reporters.

Tijam, a Duterte appointee, retired from the High Court in January.

If confirmed, he will join the six current members of the JBC, namely: Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin as ex-officio chair, Guevarra, Senator Richard Gordon and Oriental Mindoro First District Representative Doy Leachon representing Congress, lawyer Milagros Fernan-Cayosa representing the Integrated Bar, retired judge Toribio Ilao representing the private sector, and former justice Jose Mendoza as a retired Supreme Court member.

Before Tijam, Jose Mejia represented the academe in the JBC. Mejia's second term ended in July last year.

The 1987 Constitution tasks the council to recommend appointees to the judiciary. In the case of SC members and judges of lower courts, the president must choose his appointee from a shortlist prepared by the JBC for each vacancy. —LDF, GMA News