SC justices get crack at top post

Five Supreme Court (SC) justices are vying for the chief justice post which will be vacated on 6 November when Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.

The aspirants are Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen and Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, Rodil V. Zalameda, Japar B. Dimaampao and Jose Midas P. Marquez.

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will begin public interviews of the candidates on Thursday, 22 October, as part of the selection process.

The first to be interviewed will be Leonen and Caguioa in the SC session hall, while Zalameda, Dimaampao and Marquez will be interviewed on 26 October.

Tough process

According to the JBC, “The public may submit a sworn complaint, report, or opposition to any of the candidates by mail to the JBC, 2nd floor, SC-CA building, Padre Faura St., Ermita, Manila, or via personal submission of three legible copies, or by electronic mail to jbc@judiciary.gov.ph not later than 4:30 p.m. on 27 October 2026.”

Leonen was appointed to the SC on 21 November 2012, Caguioa on 22 January 2016, Zalameda on 6 August 2019, Dimaampao on 2 July 2021, and Marquez on 16 November 2021.

Under Section 7, Article VII of the Constitution, a member of the SC, including the Chief Justice, must be a natural-born citizen, at least 40 years of age, and have served as a lower court judge or practiced law in the Philippines for 15 years or more. They must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence.

The JBC, the constitutional office that accepts, screens, and nominates judicial appointments, the Office of the Ombudsman and its deputies, and members of the Legal Education Board, must submit at least three nominees to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for appointment.

The JBC earlier ended its public interviews of 19 applicants for the post of SC associate justice, which will be vacated on 16 November when Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier retires.

Among the applicants are Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Fernanda Lampas Peralta, Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith A. Econg, and Solicitor General Darlene Marie B. Berberabe.