Rep. Gullas nominates UV dean

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu 1st district Rep. Eduardo Gullas sent a letter to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) nominating University of the Visayas Dean Teodoro Almase for chief justice to replace the ousted Renato Corona.

 In a one-page letter to members of the JBC, Gullas vouched for Almase’s integrity and competence to be the next Supreme Court chief.

 “I have know Dean Almase for nearly 40 years and I can vouch for his integrity and competence. Traits, that together with his wealth of experience as a law practitioner, would very well serve the Supreme Court and the nation,” Gullas said.

 Almase is currently the Dean of the Gullas School of Law of the University of the Visayas. He is the 4th placer in the 1963 Bar Examinations and also a placer in the licensure examinations for Geodetic engineers.

 The other nominees for chief justice include Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares, lawyer Katrina Legarda, former Ateneo Law Dean Cesar Villanueva, Solicitor-General Francis Jardeleza, former UP Law Dean Raul Pangalangan and former Laguna Assistant Prosecutor Marianito Sasondocillo.

 The five most senior associate justices of the Supreme Court are also automatically nominated to the post. They are acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion and Diosdado Peralta.  (FREEMAN)