MANILA -- The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has opened a post in the Court of Appeals after Associate Justice Socorro Inting was appointed last May 3 as commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Inting filled the vacancy left by Comelec Commissioner Arthur Lim who retired last February.
Supreme Court (SC) Clerk of Court and JBC Ex Officio Secretary Edgar Aricheta, in an announcement, said interested applicants have until July 10 to submit their applications.
“The date of actual receipt by the JBC of the applications and complete documentary requirements shall be deemed as the date of filing,” read the announcement.
“The qualifications of applicants shall be reckoned from the said deadline,” it added.
In the same announcement, the JBC said it is also accepting applications for 42 vacant posts as judges in the National Capital Judicial Region.
Interested applicants were also given until July 10 to submit their applications.
Among the requirements are results of reports of medical examinations; Income Tax Returns or Certificates of Compensation Payment/Tax Withheld; Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN); performance ratings from 2015 to 2017 for those in government; notarized personal data sheet; law school records; certificate of admission to the Bar; certificate of employment; service records for those who have been employed in government; samples of written works like decisions, treatises, opinions and articles; and clearances from the Ombudsman, Office of the Bar Confidant, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, and the Philippine National Police.
Meanwhile, the JBC is set to conduct a public panel interview for the aspirants for the position of SC Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., 69, who is set to retire on August 8.
Twelve candidates are being considered to replace Velasco, six of whom have been previously interviewed, including SC Court Administrator Midas Marquez, who was among the candidates who wanted to take over the post vacated by SC Associate Justices Bienvenido Reyes and Jose Mendoza.
Aricheta said the other candidates who have already been interviewed are Ramon Bato, Apolinario Bruselas Jr., Rosemari Carandang, Ramon Paul Hernando, and Jose Reyes Jr.
The JBC scheduled a public panel interview at the Division Hearing Room of the SC Main Building for the remaining six aspirants on June 14.
From 9 a.m. to noontime, they scheduled Oscar Badelles, Manuel Barrios, and Carlos Espero II, and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., the council lined up Ramon D.R. Garcia, Amy Lazaro-Javier, and Cesar Villanueva.
The JBC encouraged the public to submit a sworn complaint, report or opposition against any of the 12 applicants, either through personal delivery or mail addressed to the JBC 2nd Floor, Centennial Building, SC, Padre Faura St., Manila City.
The JBC could also be reached at its landline (552-9512), fax (552-9607) or emails [email protected] and [email protected].
The JBC is constitutionally mandated to screen and vet nominees to the President for vacant posts in the judiciary and the offices of the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman. It consists of seven members, including the SC chief justice; the Justice Secretary and a representative of Congress as ex officio members; and a representative each from retired SC justices, the academe, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and the private sector as regular members.
It is chaired by Senior Associate Justice and now acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, with ex-officio members Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, Senator Richard Gordon, and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali.
Its regular members include retired SC Associate Justice Jose Catral Mendoza, representing the justices and chairperson of the JBC Executive Committee; lawyer Jose Mejia, representing the academe; lawyer Milagros Fernan-Cayosa, representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and retired Judge Toribio Ilao, representing the private sector. (PNA)
