THE Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has opened the nomination and application for the post of associate justice which would be left vacant upon the compulsory retirement of Associate Justice Rosmari D. Carandang on January 9, 2022.
The JBC, likewise, said it would start accepting applicants and nominees for five posts of associate justice of the Court of Appeals (CA) and more than 70 judgeship posts in four judicial regions in Mindanao.
The JBC, the constitutional body that screens applicants and nominates appointments to the judiciary, said the deadline for the application or recommendation is on November 2, 2021.
Currently, there is still an existing vacancy in the SC owing to the early retirement last June 30 of Associate Justice Edgardo L. delos Santos due to health reasons.
The JBC has come up with a shortlist of nominees for the said post, which include CA Associate Justices Ramon R. Cruz and Maria Filomena D. Singh; Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje Tang and Associate Justice Geraldine Faith A. Econg; and Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez and Deputy Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva.
The list was submitted by the JBC to President Duterte last August 27.
The 69-year-old Justice Carandang was appointed by Duterte to the SC on November 26, 2018.
Prior to this, Carandang served as an associate justice of the Court of Appeals for 15 years.
Her career in the judiciary started in December 1993 when she was appointed as presiding judge of Branch 12 of the Regional Trial Court of Manila City.
Meanwhile, vacant posts in the CA were those left by Associate Justices Jhosep Y. Lopez ,who was promoted to the SC on January 25, 2021; Danton Q. Bueser who retired on March 14, 2021; Franchito N. Diamante who passed away May 4, 2021; Edgardo T. Lloren who retired August 8, 2021; and Elihu A. Ybanez who will retire on November 2, 2021.
For Judicial Regions 9, 10, 11, and 12, vacant judgeship posts are for the regional trial court, municipal trial courts, municipal circuit trial courts, and Shari’a district court.
These are in the provinces of Basilan, Agusan del Sur, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Bukidnon, Sulu, Dinagat Island, Surigao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Davao Oriental, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat.