De Castro, Bersamin, Peralta included in JBC shortlist for CJ post

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), tasked to screen applicants for posts in the judiciary, shortlisted three of Supreme Court’s (SC’s) senior justices for the top magistrate post on Friday, August 24.

According to the SC’s public information office (PIO), the JBC submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte the three nominees: Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Diosdado Peralta, and Lucas Bersamin.

Both De Castro and Peralta got six votes, while Bersamin obtained five votes.

This development came after four opposition lawmakers — Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, Magdalo party-list Representative Gary Alejano, Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat, Jr., and Akbayan party-list Representative Tom Villarin — filed an impeachment complaint against the three shortlisted justices.

The magistrates are accused of violating the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in connection to the SC’s May 11 decision to unseat former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

De Castro, Peralta, and Bersamin were among the eight justices who granted the quo warranto petition seeking to nullify Sereno’s appointment. The petition was filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida in March.

[READ: Supreme Court rules to oust Sereno]

Aside from the three, the other magistrates who also voted in favor of Calida’s petition — Justices Andres Reyes, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, and Alexander Gesmundo — were also slapped with the impeachment rap.

Former SC Associate Justice Samuel Martires, who was also among those eight magistrates, was not included in the complaint as he has been appointed as the new Ombudsman. He replaced former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, whose term ended last July 26.

[READ: Duterte appoints Martires for ombudsman post]

Lagman called the justices’ decision to void Sereno’s appointment as “not only errant” but also ‘malevolent.’

“It is not only bereft of constitutional anchorage, it is also a blatant subterfuge, an orchestrated charade,” he said in a press conference on Thursday after the filing.

However, for Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, ex-officio member of the JBC, the lawmakers’ complaint will not affect the justices bid for the top magistrate post.

“My personal opinion is, the mere filing of an impeachment complaint, which is not the same as a criminal or administrative complaint in the ordinary sense, will not have any effect on the nomination of the four SC justices for the CJ position,” Guevarra earlier said in a text message sent to reporters.