Nominees for SC justice face JBC

MANILA, Philippines — Aspirants for the post of Supreme Court (SC) associate justice were grilled in public interviews by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) yesterday.

Among the applicants for the post to be vacated by the retirement of Associate Justice Noel Tijam in January next year is Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang. 

The seven-member council tasked to vet nominees for judicial posts asked Tang about an administrative charge against her for alleged favoritism in giving a retirement party to a clerk of court.

The Sandiganbayan chief said the SC has dismissed the administrative case filed against her.

JBC member lawyer Ma. Milagros Cayosa also questioned Tang about the graft case against former first lady Imelda Marcos after she was granted bail by the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division despite being convicted.

“I don’t believe that justices of the Fifth Division gravely abused their discretion. As a rule, an accused is still allowed provisional liberty after conviction in bailable offenses,” Tang explained.

Asked about her eligibility for an SC post with only six years of experience in the judiciary, Tang cited her 31-year experience in the Office of the Solicitor General.

Also interviewed by the JBC were Court of Appeals Associate Justices Ramon Cruz, Eduardo Peralta, Ricardo Rosario and Ramon Bato Jr. as well as Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Efren de la Cruz.

The other applicants for the SC post no longer faced the JBC because their previous interviews for earlier vacancies in the judiciary remained valid.

They are CA Associate Justices Stephen Cruz, Edgardo delos Santos, Japar Dimaampao, Amy Lazaro-Javier, Mario Lopez, Manuel Barrios and Ramon Garcia; Court Administrator Midas Marquez; Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Alex Quiros; Tagum Regional Trial Court Judge Virginia Tehano-Ang; and former Ateneo law dean Cesar Villanueva and De La Salle University law vice dean Rita Linda Jimeno.