JBC allows closed-door interviews for senior nominees for chief justice

MANILA, Philippines — The Judicial and Bar Council has agreed that  justices who received an automatic nomination to the chief justice post and who have served the tribunal for at least five years will no longer need to go through a public interview.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, on the council by virtue of position, said in a statement that: “The JBC agreed to dispense with the public interviews of senior SC justices vying for the CJ position, without prejudice to closed-door interviews by the members of the JBC.”

Guevarra later clarified that only the five most senior justices and SC associate justices with a minimum of five years at the Supreme Court are exempted from the public interview.

Applicants from outside the SC and junior justices would still undergo public interview, Guevarra stressed as “they have yet to prove themselves worthy of aspiring to become primus inter pares (first among equals.).”

The JBC has five applicants for the top judge post so far: Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Andres Reyes Jr.

Peralta, Bersamin and Reyes had their public interview last July, and their interviews are deemed valid for a year.

Carpio and Bernabe, meanwhile, are among the top five most senior justices who received automatic nominations to the chief justice post.

SC resolution

Guevarra said the the JBC move came after an SC en banc resolution “expressing its sentiment that senior justices of the supreme court vying for the chief justice position should be exempted  from public interviews.”

The Justice chief said that the JBC thoroughly discussed the matter in two sessions and a majority of the panel voted to forego the public interviews for senior justices. He stressed that all chief justice nominees would still be thoroughly interviewed by the JBC behind closed doors.

Guevarra also said that a majority of JBC members opined that SC justices were already subjected to a public interview when they applied for a seat at the high tribunal.

The JBC is composed of seven members with the chief justice as ex-officio chair, the secretary of Justice and a representative of Congress as ex-officio members—currently represented by Sen. Richard Gordon—a representative of the Integrated Bar, a professor of law, a retired member of the Supreme Court and a representative of the private sector.

“Any public inquiry anew on matters pertaining to their SALNs and other personal matters in full view of the public through live media coverage would not serve any substantially useful purpose,” he added.

“If any formal amendment to the JBC rules is necessary, the same will be so done,” Guevarra added.

The JBC will close its call for application for the chief justice post on October 26.