By Benjamin Pulta
MANILA – Public interviews for applicants vying for the post of Supreme Court (SC) associate justice, to be vacated by Associate Justice Mario Lopez, who retires on June 4, are set from May 14 to 21, the Judicial Bar and Council (JBC) announced on Tuesday.
Lopez’s replacement will be the first magistrate to be appointed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to the SC.
A total of 17 applicants are vying for the post, including members of the Court of Appeals (CA), Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), and the academe.
The applicants from the CA are Justices Fernanda Peralta (1st Division chair), Ramon Bato Jr. (2nd Division chair), Nina Antonio-Valenzuela (8th Division chair), Myra Garcia-Fernandez (6th Division chair), Ma. Elisa Diy (11th Division chair), Ramon Cruz (5th Division chair), Ronaldo Roberto Martin (16th Division member), Walter Ong (6th Division senior member), and Carlito Calpatura (9th Division senior member).
From the Sandiganbayan, applying for the post are Justices Ronald Moreno (3rd Division member) and Karl Miranda (3rd Division chair), as well as CTA 2nd Division member Maria Rowena Modesto-San Pedro.
Rounding out the list are University of the Philippines College of Law Dean Darlene Berberabe, SC Administrator Raul Villanueva, former Ambassador Manuel AJ Teehankee, Dean Maria Concepcion Noche of the University of Asia and the Pacific College of Law, and tax lawyer Maria Rosario De Leon Bernardo.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the minimum requirements for appointment to the Supreme Court are natural-born citizenship; 40 years of age; and 15 years or more as a judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines.
Under the Constitution, a vacancy must be filled within 90 days. (PNA)
