MANILA – The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) on Thursday has opened for applicants the position of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (SC).
In an advisory, the JBC said this came after the high court approved last Jan. 5 the optional retirement of Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta effective March 27.
It said interested applicants must visit the official JBC website http://jbc.judiciary.gov.ph/ and access the Online Application Scheduler.
After filling in the required information in the Online Application Scheduler, the applicants would receive a computer-generated letter of intent in their e-mail addresses.
Applicants must submit complete and accurate digitized versions of the letter of intent and the documentary requirements through e-mail to orsn.jbc@judiciary.gov.ph on their selected date of appointment in the Online Application Scheduler.
The deadline for the submission of applications for the Chief Justice vacancy is on Feb. 15.
Peralta was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as the country’s top magistrate in October 2019, replacing Lucas Bersamin.
In December, Peralta announced his plan to step down from the post one year ahead of his mandatory retirement on March 27, 2022.
Under the JBC’s rules, the five most senior Associate Justices are automatically nominated for the post.
Should the President pick Peralta’s successor based on seniority, the most senior magistrate of the high court is Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe who would retire from the service on May 14, 2022.
The other most senior magistrates are Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Alexander Gesmundo, and Ramon Paul Hernando.
The JBC also announced the opening for the position of Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao after Rodolfo Elman’s term ends on March 13.
The deadline for applications to the position is on March 1. (PNA)
