MANILA, Philippines – The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) announced it is now accepting applications and recommendations for the vacant Supreme Court Associate Justice post following the recent promotion of Alexander Gesmundo as Chief Justice.

In a document posted by the Supreme Court Public Information Office, the JBC said applications and recommendations for the said post, as well as the documentary requirements, will be accepted until May 10.

“Interested applicants must visit the official JBC website and access the online application scheduler between 8 a.m. and 12 midnight, not later than May 10,” the JBC said.

JBC ANNOUNCEMENT: Opening for application or recommendation of the position of Supreme Court Associate Justice (vice Hon. Alexander G. Gesmundo, who was appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice on 5 April 2021) https://t.co/VRSlrDZ2YN

— Philippine Supreme Court Public Information Office (@SCPh_PIO) April 8, 2021

Among the documentary requirements that must be submitted are application letter or recommendation letter with conforme, Personal Data Sheet, transcript of law school records, PSA issued birth certificate, certificates of admission to the Bar with Bar rating, employment, clearances from the Office of the Ombudsman, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, medical exam results, income tax returns, and Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

The JBC said that the digitized versions of the documentary requirements they will submit must be “complete” and “accurate.”

The JBC is a constitutional office that accepts, screens, and nominates appointments to the judiciary.

It will then submit a list of nominees to President Rodrigo Duterte for selection.

Duterte has 90 days from vacancy to appoint a new SC magistrate.

MANILA, Philippines – The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Monday submitted its shortlist of candidates for the next Supreme Court chief justice to President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a document released to the media, three Supreme Court magistrates made it to the list of candidates. These are Associate Justices Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Alexander Gesmundo and Ramon Paul Hernando.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, a member of the JBC, earlier said that only Perlas-Bernabe, Gesmundo, and Hernando have completed the requirements for the application for the position.

Two other most senior associate justices of the Supreme Court – Marvic Mario Victor Leonen and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa – did not submit their requirements, prompting the JBC to rule out their inclusion in the shortlist.

It has been a tradition to automatically nominate the five most senior high court justices to the top judiciary post.

The JBC is tasked to vet all applicants and nominees for vacancies in the judiciary and to shortlist the qualified candidates.

The president’s pick will replace Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta who is set to retire on March 27.

Peralta will retire from service a year ahead of his mandatory retirement at the age of 70 after the Supreme Court en banc approved his application for early retirement last January.

The chief executive has 90 days from the vacancy to appoint a new top magistrate.

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) chairperson Dante Jimenez has passed away due to an aortic aneurysm. He was 68.

Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) president Arsenio “Boy” Evangelista confirmed Jimenez’s death on his Facebook page.

“It is with deep sadness the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) officially announces the demise of its Founding Chairman Dante La Jimenez last Friday, January 29, 2021, due to an Aortic Aneurysm,” Evangelista said.

He also shared on his post the official statement of the family of Jimenez.

“We, his family will miss him dearly as we have lost a loving family man and a passionate anti-crime crusader,” the post said.

Jimenez was the founding chairman of VACC before his appointment to PACC in January 2018.

“Chairman Dante leaves behind an irreplaceable void. However, we at VACC will honor his memory by continuing the crusade with a greater sense of purpose and commitment,” the VACC board said.

Malacañang, on Saturday, offered its condolences to Jimenez’s family.

“The Palace expresses its condolences to the family, loved ones and colleagues of Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Chairperson Dante Jimenez who died of aortic aneurysm last night, January 29, 2021,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

“PACC Chair Jimenez spent most of his productive life advocating a just and peaceful society for Filipinos by fighting criminality and corruption. He believed and shared President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s centerpiece program, which is the campaign against illegal drugs, crime and corruption, and had served the Duterte Administration as Chair of PACC and Co-Chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD). He would be dearly missed,” he added. —/mbmf