Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo will preside over the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) when the body screens the applicants and nominees for the Chief Justice (CJ) position left vacant following the retirement of Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro last week.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters that it was only Justice Del Castillo among the senior magistrates who declined automatic nomination for the top post in the judiciary.
It has been the practice and tradition, according to Guevarra, that the most senior member of the High Tribunal presides over the JBC when all other senior magistrates are vying for the CJ post.
“As a matter of practice, the most senior SC justice who did not apply for the chief justice post will preside over the deliberations on the CJ position. Hence, Justice Del Castillo will preside over the JBC when the CJ post will be taken up,” Guevarra said
Aside from Del Castillo, among the five most senior magistrates who were automatically nominated for the CJ post were Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.
Except for Del Castillo, all the senior magistrates have accepted their automatic nomination for the CJ post.
Guevarra also disclosed that retired Sandiganbayan Justice Raoul Victorino had nominated all SC justices for the CJ post but only Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr, a junior magistrate, accepted the nomination.
This brings to five the number of candidates vying for the position.
In a letter dated October 12, 2018, Del Castillo said he was honored to be automatically nominated to the chief justice post, but declined the same citing lack of time to institute projects as CJ.
“My compulsory retirement next year, however, compels me to respectfully decline the nomination. I foresee that, as chairperson of the 2018 Bar Examinations, my work will extend to the months just prior to my retirement. That will leave me not much time to embark on notable projects that a Chief Justice will normally want to have an imprint on,” he said.
The JBC has moved the deadline for nominations to the CJ post from October 15 to October 26.
Meanwhile, the SC has reorganized the membership in its three divisions with the assumption to office of newly-appointed Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando.
The first division will now be composed of Associate Justices Lucas P. Bersamin as acting chairman with Associate Justices Mariano C. del Castillo, Francis H. Jardeleza, Noel G. Tijam and Alexander G. Gesmundo.
Assigned to the second division were Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio as chairman with Associate Justices Estela M. Perlas Bernabe, Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, Andres B. Reyes Jr., and Jose C. Reyes Jr. as members,
Meanwhile, the third division is composed of Associate Justice Diosdado M. Peralta as the chairman with Associate Justices Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen, Gesmundo, Jose C. Reyes Jr., and Hernando as members.
Associate Justices Gesmundo and Jose C. Reyes Jr. are the swing justices to complete the membership in the divisions of five justices each.
The SC resolves cases brought before it either in divisions or as a full court. Among the full court cases are those involving constitutional issues like Presidential proclamations.
Hernando was the latest appointee of President Duterte to the SC in lieu of Associate Justice Samuel R. Martires who has been appointed as Ombudsman.
So far, the President has already appointed six justices to the SC and is expected to appoint four more during his term.