MANILA – Screening for the next Chief Justice begins Oct. 1, according to Justice secretary Menardo Guevarra, an ex-officio member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
“The notice about the opening of the CJ position will be published on [Sept. 29]. So applications/nominations will be accepted starting Monday until Oct. 15,” Guevarra said.
Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro will reach the mandatory retirement age on Oct. 8. Only nominations with a letter of acceptance from the nominee will be processed by the JBC.
The five most senior associate justices of the Supreme Court – Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, and Estela Perlas-Bernabe – are automatically nominated unless they decline the nomination.
The Constitution states that the Supreme Court shall be composed of a Chief Justice and 14 associate justices. The high court may sit en banc or at its discretion, in divisions of three, five, or seven members. Any vacancy shall be filled within 90 days.
No person shall be appointed member of the Supreme Court or any lower collegiate court unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines.
A member of the Supreme Court must be at least 40 years old, and must have been, for 15 years or more, a judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines. (PNA)
