FAST FACTS: Shortlisted candidates for Supreme Court vacancy

MANILA, Philippines – The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) revealed on Monday, January 18, the shortlist of candidates for the Supreme Court (SC) seat vacated by retired Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr.

Villarama’s retirement took effect on Saturday, January 16. The JBC initially assessed 16 candidates who could replace him. 

These candidates were scheduled for public interviews for two days, with the first 8 interviewed on January 7, and the remaining 8 on January 8.

Here’s a quick profile of the 5 candidates who made it to the shortlist submitted to President Benigno Aquino III. Images below are lifted from the livestream provided by the Supreme Court.

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ALFREDO BENJAMIN CAGUIOA

Garnered 7 votes from JBC
Department of Justice Secretary
Law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University

• Founding partner of the Caguioa & Gatmaytan law firm
• Appointed Chief Presidential Legal Counsel in January 2013, and then Justice Secretary in 2015 after the resignation of Leila de Lima
• Classmate of President Benigno Aquino III from grade school to college (both took Economics) at Ateneo de Manila University
• Helped in Aquino’s presidential campaign in 2010
• Son of former Court of Appeals justice Eduardo Caguioa

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ANDRES REYES JR

Garnered 7 votes from JBC
Court of Appeals presiding justice
Law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University

• Also holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Philippine Women’s University
• After law school, worked at the Office of the Ombudsman
• Appointed judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court in Makati in 1987, and judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court in San Mateo, Rizal in 1990
• Appointed CA associate justice in 1999, and promoted to presiding justice in 2010
• Nominated in 2014 to replace outgoing SC Associate Justice Roberto Abad
• Grandson of former SC justice Alex Reyes, and son of former CA presiding justice Andres Reyes Sr

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JOSE REYES JR

Garnered 7 votes from JBC
Court of Appeals associate justice
Law degree from San Beda College

• Appointed to CA in 2003
• Before CA, worked as a Metropolitan Trial Court judge in Pasig and Regional Trial Court judge in Rizal
• Was a candidate in 2012 to replace then-SC Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, and in 2014 to replace outgoing SC Associate Justice Roberto Abad
• Accused by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV of accepting a bribe just to stop the suspension of former Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr

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MARIA GRACIA PULIDO-TAN

Garnered 5 votes from JBC
former Commission on Audit chairperson
Law degree from the University of the Philippines

• Obtained a Masters of Law degree from New York University in 1981
• Was the founding and senior partner of Tan & Venturanza Law Offices
• Worked as Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) commissioner and Department of Finance (DOF) undersecretary
• Became independent director of banks, and worked for different projects abroad
• Served in COA from 2011 until she retired in 2015
• Under her term, COA produced the first comprehensive report on how the discretionary development funds of senators and congressmen were misused in the last 3 years of the Arroyo administration
• Nominated in 2014 to replace outgoing SC Associate Justice Roberto Abad

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APOLINARIO BRUSELAS JR

Garnered 4 votes from JBC
Court of Appeals associate justice
Law degree from the University of the Philippines

• Before his appointment to CA in 2005, used to worked at the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Quezon City Regional Trial Court
• Nominated in 2013 as a candidate for the Sandiganbayan presiding justice vacancy, but lost to Amparo Cabotaje-Tang
• Previously shortlisted for a vacancy in the Supreme Court twice – in 2011 and 2014
• Earned an award for Judicial Excellence in 2003

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The 1987 Constitution mandates that those who will be appointed to the SC should be natural-born Filipino citizens, at least 40 years old, and with at least 15 years of experience as a lower court judge or a law practitioner in the country. – Rappler.com