MAJORITY of the Supreme Court magistrates are endorsing the appointment of their colleague Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin to be the next Chief Justice, to replace ousted CJ Ma. Lourdes A. Sereno.
SC spokesman Theodore Te said the members of the Court conducted an internal voting on the matter of the vacancy in the CJ post during their regular en banc session on Tuesday.
The result of the voting showed 10 associate justices endorsing Bersamin as Sereno’s replacement.
Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-De Castro and Diosdado Peralta both got nine votes each, while Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr. got.
Bersamin, De Castro and Peralta were among the five senior associate justices that were automatically nominated for the CJ post by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
The three accepted their automatic nomination, making them official candidates for the post.
The two other senior magistrates who were automatically considered for the position were acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and Presbitero Velasco Jr., but they declined their nomination.
Carpio expressed his disinterest to be appointed as Sereno’s replacement out of delicadeza considering that he voted against the granting of the quo warranto petition that led to Sereno’s ouster.
Velasco also rejected the nomination since he is retiring from the judiciary next month.
Also vying for the CJ post is Tagum City, Davao del Norte Regional Trial Court Branch 11 Presiding Judge Virginia Tehano-Ang.
No members of the Court voted for her, an indication that the magistrates are adhering to the long-standing judicial tradition of seniority in choosing the next Chief Justice.
The JBC will thoroughly screen the five candidates before submitting a shortlist of nominees to the President.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said JBC is set to convene on August 3 for the initial evaluation on the five candidates.
De Castro, Bersamin and Peralta were among the six justices whom Sereno wanted to inhibit from participating in the deliberation of the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida seeking the nullification of her appointment as chief magistrate for failure to comply with requirements to qualify for the post.
The Court eventually granted the petition in a decision issued last May 11, 2018 which became final on June 19, 2018.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the President has 90 days or until September 16 from vacancy to fill up the post.
De Castro, Bersamin and Peralta were all appointees of then President and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
De Castro is set to retire from the SC in October 2018, when she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Bersamin will reach the mandatory retirement age of 70 in October 2019 while Peralta will retire in March 2022.
Reyes is set to retire in May 2020, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.