JBC opens application for SC post vacated by new chief justice
MANILA, Philippines — The Judicial and Bar Council has announced the opening of application for the position of Supreme Court associate justice that became vacant when Teresita de Castro was appointed as the country’s top judge.
In an advisory, the JBC said applicants must submit all the requirements to the JBC office in Manila not later than 4:30 p.m. of Oct. 1, 2018.
The JBC is the body in charge of conducting careful screening of candidates seeking to fill the vacancies in the judiciary.
Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed De Castro as the high tribunal’s new chief justice, replacing Maria Lourdes Sereno who was ousted by her fellow magistrates on the grounds of missing wealth declarations.
In May, the SC voted 8-6 to remove Sereno and affirmed the controversial ruling in June. The SC also immediately ordered the JBC to start processing applications for the chief justice post.
Some have expressed concern that the landmark ruling paves the way for a constitutional crisis, wherein the high court has assumed a function the fundamental law grants solely to Congress—to oust the chief justice through impeachment proceedings.
Duterte, who has made no secret of his dislike for Sereno, earlier called the former chief justice his “enemy” who must be removed from the high tribunal.
De Castro was among the high court justices who voted to unseat Sereno.
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