SC Justice Delos Santos' early retirement effective June 30

The Supreme Court (SC) has approved the request for early retirement of SC Justice Edgardo delos Santos effective June 30 due to health reasons.

The SC’s approval was contained in a resolution dated May 12, a copy of which was released to the media on Monday.

Delos Santos said as early as March that he was considering the possibility of leaving the judiciary ahead of his mandatory retirement on June 12, 2022 when he turns 70.

He had told his staff in a letter that he agonized over his decision to hang his judicial robe early, spending “sleepless nights” trying to think of the “best way” to inform them “in light of the trying times we are currently experiencing.”

The magistrate also thanked them for their “dedication, commitment, patience and most especially your friendship.”

A retirement ceremony in honor of Delos Santos will be conducted, but the Court has not set a date yet.

A former Court of Appeals justice, delos Santos joined the SC in December 2019.

Aside from delos Santos, then-Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta had also opted for early retirement. Peralta’s 34-year stint in government ended when he turned 69 on March 27.

SC Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla retired last November at 62 years old after the Court approved her application for disability retirement. She served on the Court for only three months.

Under the Constitution, the President has 90 days from the vacancy to choose a new SC magistrate or chief justice. He has to choose his appointee from the shortlist provided by the screening body Judicial and Bar Council (JBC). —KBK, GMA News