JBC lists 8 court vacancies

By Rey Panaligan

There are two vacant posts in the Supreme Court (SC), four in the Court of Appeals (CA) and two in the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA).

While the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has named its nominees to the two vacant posts in the SC, it has yet to finish its selection and nomination processes in the other vacancies.

The vacant posts in the SC are those left with the promotion of Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin last November and with the retirement of Associate Justice Noel Gimenez Tijam last January 5.

Sources said President Duterte has named Bersamin’s replacement as associate justice but has yet to release the appointment.

Under the Constitution, the President has 90 days to fill up a vacant post in the judiciary from the date of the vacancy. Chief Justice Bersamin was appointed on November 28, 2018.

In the CA, the posts to be filled up are those left vacant as a result of the retirement of Associate Justices Magdangal de Leon, Renato Francisco, and Romulo Borja, and with the promotion to the SC of Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr.

Vacant posts in the CTA were those left with the retirement of Associate Justices Lovell Bautista and Caesar Casanova.

Meanwhile, the JBC – the constitutional office that accepts, screens, and nominates appointments to the judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) – has announced the acceptance of applications to the post of deputy

Ombudsman for Luzon that would be vacated in June by Gerard Mosquera.

Applicants are given until April 17 to submit their applications or nominations with acceptance as well as documentary requirements to the JBC office at the SC in Manila.

“A recommendation or nomination filed in lieu of an application may be given due course only if he or she has signified his or her acceptance thereof either in the recommendation itself or in a separate document, and has submitted two complete sets of documentary requirements,” the JBC said.

Mosquera’s replacement will be the President’s second appointee to the OMB.

Last July, the President appointed then SC Associate Justice Samuel Martires as Ombudsman to fill up the post vacated with the retirement of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.