Leonen, 7 other SC candidates to be grilled Thursday

IT'S the turn of eight aspirants for the lone vacancy at the Supreme Court to be interviewed by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) led by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Leading the pack on Thursday is Marvic Leonen, who was credited for crafting the framework peace agreement between the Aquino government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Leonen, a former dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law, is the head of the government negotiating panel since 2010.

Leonen declined to comment if he has already anticipated queries regarding the deal. Under questioning by Sereno, Court of Appeals Justice Ramon Bato admitted that he could not give his take on the agreement since he has yet to read the 13-page document.

Bato and former law dean Jose Santos-Bisquera, meanwhile, gave their respective views on the controversial Cybercrime law, which cannot be implemented at the moment because of a temporary restraining order released by the SC.

Also grilled by the JBC were CA Justice Rosemari Carandang and Sandiganbayan Justice Maria Cristina Cornejo.

Besides Leonen, scheduled for public interview as well are former RTC Judge Adoracion Cruz-Avisado; CA Presiding Justice Andres Reyes; CA Justices Magdangal De Leon, Jose Reyes, Noel Tijam and Isaias Dicdican; and former Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla.

The other three candidates – De La Salle University Law Dean Jose Manuel Diokno, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Teresita Herbosa, and former Ateneo Law Dean Cesar Villanueva – had already been interviewed in July 2012 when they were vying for the position of chief justice.

After the Halloween break, the JBC will meet on November 5 to come up with a shortlist of at least three nominees that will be submitted to President Benigno Aquino III, who has until November 24 to pick the last and 15th member of the High Court. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)