Who’s vying for the post of SC Justice Brion?

MANILA, Philippines – Seven candidates are vying for the position of Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice, soon to be vacated by retiring SC Justice Arturo Brion.

On Friday, December 9, the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) released its shortlist of nominees to replace Brion, who is set to retire on December 29. 

The JBC, the body mandated to screen and vet nominees to the judiciary, will submit the short list to President Rodrigo Duterte. (EXPLAINER: How the Judicial and Bar Council works)

Of the 7 candidates on the short list for Brion’s replacement, 3 were also included on the short list for retiring SC Justice Jose Perez: Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justices Jose Reyes Jr, Apolinario Bruselas Jr, and Japar Dimaampao. (READ: Who’s who: Candidates vying for SC justice post)

Three of the nominees on the JBC shortlist were interviewed during the 2-day public interviews held last month: CA Associate Justices Amy Lazaro-Javier and Noel Tijam, and Centro Escolar University law school associate dean Rita Linda Ventura-Jimeno.

Those on the JBC shortlist are:

• Rosmari D. Carandang 
• Apolinario D. Bruselas Jr 
• Jose C. Reyes Jr
• Japar B. Dimaampao
• Amy C. Lazaro-Javier
• Noel G. Tijam
• Rita Linda S. Ventura-Jimeno

Know more about the candidates vying for the position.

ROSMARI CARANDANG

Born January 9, 1952 (age 64)

6 votes from the JBC

• Court of Appeals Associate Justice
• If appointed, she will have 6 years as SC magistrate before she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70
• Law degree from the University of the Philippines
• Placed 9th in the 1975 Bar examination
• Was nominated for a vacancy in the Supreme Court thrice – in 2011, 2012, and 2014 – but lost on all occasions
• Previously served as a Manila regional trial court judge
• Became a subject of a complaint in 2008 and was alleged to have asked for money before she ruled in favor of the complainant in a case

APOLINARIO D. BRUSELAS JR

Born May 6, 1956 (age 60)

5 votes from the JBC

• Court of Appeals Associate Justice
• If appointed, he will have 10 years as SC magistrate before he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70
• Law degree from the University of the Philippines
• Prior to his appointment to the CA in 2005, he used to work at the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Quezon City regional trial court
• He was nominated in 2013 as candidate for the Sandiganbayan presiding justice vacancy, but lost to Amparo Cabotaje-Tang

JOSE C. REYES JR

Born September 18, 1950 (age 66)

5 votes from the JBC

• Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice
• If appointed, he will have 4 years as SC magistrate before he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70
• Law degree from San Beda College
• Appointed to the CA in 2003
• Before CA, he 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 Supreme Court 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 Binay Jr
  
  

JAPAR DIMAAMPAO

Born December 27, 1963 (age 52)

5 votes from the JBC

• Court of Appeals Associate Justice
• If appointed, he will have 18 years as SC magistrate before he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70
• Law degree from University of the East College of Law
• Law professor specializing in commercial law and taxation
• During the JBC interviews, he vowed to enrich jurisprudence on sharia laws
  
  

AMY LAZARO-JAVIER

Born November 16, 1956 (age 60)

4 votes from the JBC

• Court of Appeals Associate Justice
• If appointed, she will have 10 years as SC magistrate before she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70
• Law degree from the University of Santo Tomas
• Teaches political law, commercial law, and civil law subjects at the UST Faculty Civil Law since 1983
• Before CA, she joined the Office of the Solicitor General in 1983 as trial attorney, and later became Assistant Solicitor General in 1994
  
  

NOEL TIJAM

January 5, 1949 (age 67)

4 votes from the JBC

• Court of Appeals Associate Justice
• If appointed, he will have 3 years as SC magistrate before he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70
• Law degree from

   San Beda College of Law 

•  

  Held various positions in government agencies such as the Government Service Insurance System 

• Taught law at the Philippine School of Business Administration

• Was 

  appointed Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 judge in 1994 by former president Fidel Ramos, and then to the Court of Appeals in 2003 under former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

• In 2013, he wrote the CA decision affirming the constitutionality of former president Benigno Aquino III’s revocation of Arroyo’s so-called “midnight appointments,” revoking almost 600 appointments

  

RITA LINDA VENTURA-JIMENO

September 12, 1952 (age 64)

4 votes from the JBC

• Associate Dean of the Centro Escolar University Law School
• If appointed, she will have 6 years as SC magistrate before she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70
• Law degree from University of the Philippines – Diliman
• Managing partner of the Jimeno Cope & David Law Offices 

• An arbitrator and a Supreme Court-accredited mediator

• Worked as a member of technical working groups that crafted rules on whistle-blowing in the judiciary and rules of practice in environmental courts

Over the next 3 years, Duterte will appoint at least 10 SC magistrates to replace retiring justices.

If Reyes or Tijam are appointed to the SC, the President will be able to make additional appointments within his 6-year-term since the two nominees have 3 or 4 years before they reach retirement age.

Over the past two years, the High Court has decided on major cases involving notable politicians – such as Grace Poe’s citizenship, the bail plea of Senator Juan Ponce-Enrile, former president Gloria Arroyo’s plunder case, and more recently, the planned burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the heroes’ cemetery. (READ: How did SC justices vote on major political cases?) – with earlier reports from Rey Santos Jr and Jee Geronimo/Rappler.com