9 people accept nominations to SC post

THE Judicial and Bar Council closed Monday the process of nomination and application for the lone vacant post in the Supreme Court following the appointment of Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice.

At 5 p.m. Monday, the JBC secretariat stopped accepting nominations for the vacancy, a week after the nomination period started last September 10. However, a long list of nominees for the post was not yet available as of press time.

Jose Mejia, JBC member representing the academe, said in a phone interview that since their meeting Monday morning, nine nominees have accepted their nomination, four have no confirmation yet, while one declined his nomination. However, no names were provided.

Senator Francis Escudero, JBC member for the Senate, said they were not furnished a copy of the initial list of nominees because the JBC secretariat is still in the process of compiling the list.

Escudero also said the JBC also tackled various vacancies in the lower courts in Regions 2 (Cagayan Valley) and 3 (Central Luzon), which are expected to be filled up within the week.

The vacancy stemmed from the appointment last August 24 of Sereno as Chief Justice, a position previously held by Renato Corona, who was ousted following his impeachment trial for failure to disclose in his statement of assets, liability and net worth (SALN) his dollar and peso accounts.

The President has 90 days commencing from the time the vacancy occurred to appoint the associate justice that will complete the 15-member high court.

The next associate justice will be the President's fourth appointee in the SC after Sereno and Associate Justices Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Bienvenido Reyes. (JCV/Sunnex)