JBC decides De Lima’s fate next week

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will decide on Monday, August 6, whether or not it will disqualify Justice Secretary Leila de Lima from its shortlist of nominees for chief justice. The shortlist will be submitted to the president for his final selection. He has until August 29 to name a new chief justice. The complaints against De Lima stemmed from her decision to defy an order of the Supreme Court (SC) to allow the Arroyo couple to travel abroad. The SC on the other hand will hold oral arguments this Thursday, August 2, on the plea by lawmakers to reconsider an earlier SC ruling that reduced their representation in the JBC to only one. The Senate and the House of Representatives believe they should each have one representative because the legislature is bicameral. Pending decision by the High Court, representatives of the legislative branch pulled out of the JBC deliberations. Sen Joker Arroyo will argue for the Senate before the SC.

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A related story on the Supreme Court oral arguments is available on Rappler.